On the Path to a Wedding
by lexi-charmed
Summary: Chris and Dana's wedding day is getting closer. Of course, no Halliwell wedding can go without a hitch. Dean and Melinda soon find that that is the case when Lilith has a new plan to release Lucifer. Can they stop her and allow Chris and Dana to get married in peace? And what happens when hellhounds attack? Warning: Character death (I'm just not giving away who).
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone. This is the next story in my On the Path series. It starts not that long after the second story. You don't really need to read the other two stories for this one, but the could be useful as there are mentions of events now and then.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or Charmed. Everything written is just for fun.**

On the Path to a Wedding

Chapter 1

"It's all too quiet," Melinda narrowed her eyes as she walked into the Halliwell Manor. Dean was just in front of her, leading her through the door, "What's going on?"

"You need to learn to stop being so suspicious." Dean smirked at his girlfriend, as she shut the door behind them. Melinda simply raised her eyebrows muttering something about saying hi to the kettle, and Dean instantly knew what she meant. He was always suspicious, especially when something was different. And he had to admit that it was very different to walk into a quiet manor.

They'd been back in San Francisco for two months now, and most days there was noise somewhere. Someone was always over, especially at the moment. Dana and Chris' wedding was just a month away, so people were over working with them to help with preparations. There was no way anyone was letting a Halliwell have a quiet wedding.

"Seriously, where is everyone?" Melinda questioned as she looked through the doorway to the two sitting areas. Now Dean was starting to get suspicious. It wasn't like them to be able to walk into the house without hearing a soul.

Melinda headed straight for the kitchen, while Dean looked through the windows to the garden. It was a beautiful day out, so maybe they were there.

Nope. Definitely not out there. Melinda walked back into the dining area shaking her head. They weren't in there either.

"Attic?" Dean suggested, but that would mean one thing. Demons.

They'd all promised to put the Crowley hunt on the backburner for the next month. Everyone wanted to focus on something good—and that was going to be the upcoming wedding. Dean agreed that they all deserved to focus on something positive for once, but he was ready to get back onto finding out more about Crowley and how to kill the son of a bitch as soon as Chris and Dana left for their honeymoon.

Because of all that, it meant the attic wasn't really a place to go. He'd been up there a couple of times hunting around for things for Dana because she couldn't reach or lift things. But other than that, it was just to use the Book of Shadows if there was a demon; usually one that would be easy to vanquish.

The two made their way up to the attic, hoping that there was no-one actually up there. Melinda sighed with relief when she found it empty, but that led to the question of where everyone was.

"Chris did text to say to come here, right?" Mel now asked, pulling out her phone for her text messages. She went through to the one that Chris had previously sent her.

"Yeah," Dean shook his head and made his way down to the first floor of the house. He decided to speak loudly so others would hear that they were here if they were hiding in one of the rooms, "That's what you said, anyway."

"Yeah, he said to meet here. I expected him to actually be here," Melinda sighed and decided to knock on her brother's bedroom door. She had learned the hard way not to just walk in. It may have been 10 years ago, but she was still scarred from seeing her brother's naked butt in the air. When nobody answered, she decided to brave opening the door but covered her eyes, "Hey, is anyone in here?"

Dean chuckled as he watched his girlfriend cautiously open the bedroom door. He could see that the lights were out, so either someone was up to something or there was no-one in there. He peeked around the door just before Mel uncovered her eyes.

"There's no-one in there, Mel." He said and then started walking down to the ground floor just as he heard the front door closing.

"Mel? Are you here yet?" Chris' voice called out from downstairs. Dean and Melinda made their way down to find out why he wasn't there when they'd first arrived.

"Hey, I was getting worried..." Melinda trailed off as Chris headed straight to the drinks cabinet and poured himself a bourbon.

"I'm sorry," Chris sighed, rubbing his tired eyes, "I didn't get straight out of the restaurant."

Dean watched wearily. He'd seen Chris drink plenty of beer, but never touch the harder stuff. In fact, he'd never really seen anyone except Melinda drink it out of the Halliwells, except for Wyatt when he was celebrating the birth of his daughter.

"What's happened, Chris?" Melinda had a hint of worry in her voice. Dean was more on edge hearing that. Melinda didn't get worried about anything, so seeing her brother drinking the bourbon was setting off alarm bells.

"I don't know," Chris sighed, "I had to talk to someone, Mel, and you seemed like the best of a bad bunch."

"Oh thanks!" Mel scoffed as she grabbed the glass of bourbon from her brother and downed it in one, "You don't drink this stuff. You're a horrible bourbon drunk, so sit down and talk."

"I didn't mean it that way, Mel," Chris sighed and refused to do as he was told. Instead, he paced the living room floor, as if trying to keep himself busy, "It's just we don't really talk. At least not anymore. Wyatt is the one that I talk to but...I just can't talk to him about this. I don't think he'd understand."

"Okay," Melinda slowly nodded her head, "What am I going to understand?"

"Do you guys want me to..." Dean was about to offer to leave them to talk but Chris shook his head.

"I think you might understand, too," Chris replied and then took a deep breath, "I don't think I can go through with this wedding."

"What!" Dean and Melinda both said at the same time, matching shocked voices.

* * *

**So, I'd love to hear what you think of this first chapter. I thrive on reviews!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, I'm back with the second chapter. Thank you Gabyhyatt for reviewing the last one. You wanted to know why Chris doesn't want to marry Dana and here it is...is it the reason you expected?**

Chapter 2

"How can you decide a month before the wedding that you can't go through with it?" Dean asked, folding his arms.

"Why not?" Melinda decided to try a different tactic with her brother, knowing him better than Dean. Chris shrugged his shoulders at Dean, but looked at his sister. He was clearly in two minds about the whole thing.

"This wasn't an overnight decision." Chris finally admitted. It had been something he'd thought about for some time now. He'd been wondering whether marrying Dana really was the best thing to do. It wasn't commitment that scared him, but the idea of marrying a whitelighter. He'd heard how it almost ruined his parents' relationship and how Leo had become mortal to save their marriage. He didn't want to ask Dana to ever do that, and knew that she wouldn't give up her wings for him anyway.

Melinda walked to the drinks cabinet and poured three glasses of bourbon, handing one of them to Dean. She then took the other two and walked to stand in front of Chris, holding one out to him.

"One drink to calm your nerves and then you go through everything." She warned him, sipping her own alcohol. She just watched as Chris took a mouthful and then slammed the glass on the fireplace. He just looked at Melinda with a mixture of fear and worry in his eyes.

"What do I do?"

"We go through everything," Melinda repeated what she'd already said to him and then smirked, "You're right, though. Wyatt wouldn't understand this."

"I'm not sure if I do." Dean admitted as Chris sat on a chair arm and ran his hands through his hair. Melinda glared at her boyfriend, who looked at her defensively mouthing 'you do?' Would she leave him a month before their wedding? Not that there was ever going to be a wedding. The two had discussed this in the past and made it clear they didn't want a piece of paper to say that they loved someone. If they did get married, Dean was certain that he'd just elope in Las Vegas to get away from all the stress of planning a wedding. He'd seen enough of the planning these last two months to even want to consider doing it himself.

"You know what Mom and Dad went through. You heard the stories, right?" Chris looked at Melinda, and saw her nod. Of course Melinda had heard the stories. It was one of the reasons she didn't want to get married. They may have had a great marriage in the end, but it was full of ups and downs before Melinda was born. In fact, it was why there was such a large age gap between her and her brothers. Her parents had almost split up on numerous occasions and did completely split up at one point.

"You know their circumstances were completely different, though," Melinda frowned, "The Elders were completely against them being together at first. And then Dad became an Elder and..."

"I know, but what if that happens with Dana?" Chris asked.

"It doesn't just happen to any whitelighter," Melinda shook her head, "I don't think it's like a regular promotion. Dad said that he became an Elder after the Titan attack."

"Titan attack?" Dean frowned, trying to get his head around the Halliwell family history, "Titans are real?"

"I'll explain later, sweetie," Mel smiled and then turned her attention back to Chris, "Dana would have to seriously do something amazing to become an Elder. Not that she's not capable of it but I honestly don't think it would happen. Unless there was something else on the scale of the Titans that wiped out almost all the Elders again."

"Well, what about if her whitelighter duties get in the way?"

"And what if your witch duties get in the way?" Melinda shrugged her shoulders, "You know that's really just like any other business. From what I've heard of the stories of Mom and Dad, Mom was a bitch."

"Mel, I know you didn't get on with Mom but..."

"No, think about it as an outsider," Mel sighed and then turned to Dean, "If I refused to support you in your hunting, that would make me a bitch, right?"

"Well, that depends..."

"Say I was complaining about not having a normal life and I just wanted you to stop saving people. What if I pretty much gave you an ultimatum of saving people or me?"

"That doesn't sound like you, Mel, but I get your point. Yes, I'd think you were a bitch and probably leave you," Dean nodded his head, "Wait, is that what your mom did?"

"She didn't like Dad being a whitelighter," Chris sighed with a shake of his head, "She is still one of the only Halliwells that I've known just want to hide from all of magic at times and force a normal life on those around her. But that was part of her charm."

"I wouldn't have blamed Dad for walking out on her," Mel shrugged her shoulders, with a snarky laugh, "But that isn't the case with you and Dana. You both support each other. Innocents have always come first for you and charges have always come first for Dana. That's just the way it has been from the start, and you respect each other for that. It's what makes you...well...you."

"Doesn't Wyatt have to deal with stuff like this considering Bianca's a Phoenix?" Dean asked, screwing his nose up at the idea. The longer he'd been with this family, the more complicated he realized it was.

"No," Chris shook his head, "Bianca gave up her Phoenix lifestyle shortly before meeting Wyatt. Now she really only uses her powers to help innocents if they come along. Usually, it's ones that Wyatt brings home with him. That's why he wouldn't understand this."

Chris sighed and looked down at his hands. He was picking at his nails, when he finally looked up at his sister and her boyfriend, "I really don't know what to do."

"Do you love her?" Dean now asked.

"Yeah, with all my heart." Chris admitted.

"Do you want to marry her?" Dean asked again.

"Of course," Chris nodded, "I just..."

"Don't doubt yourself," Dean shook his head with a humorless laugh, "If you want to marry her, I say go for it. Forget about what could happen in the future. You realize that every single couple probably goes through these thoughts. Hell, even those of us who have no plans on ever marrying question whether we'll be with the people we love years from now."

Those words made Mel look at him with a questionable frown. Dean knew he was going to have to explain those words later, and he would but right now he was getting through to Chris.

"Think about the poor soldiers who are out there fighting for their country. They wonder whether their wives will still be there when they come back home and whether their marriage can survive another tour of duty. But that doesn't stop them from getting married to the people they love. Sure, some of those marriages end in divorce, but a lot don't."

Chris nodded his head, listening to everything Dean was saying. The guy had a point.

"Thanks," Chris said with a small smile.

"Glad I could help." Dean said, tipping his glass to Chris before walking out of the room. He decided it was time for the siblings to talk to each other.

It wasn't long before Melinda joined him in next sitting room, between the living room and the sun room. He often wondered about the point of this, but had never brought it up. He was glad it was here. It meant he could sit in comfort while Melinda finished talking to Chris.

"So, you wonder whether we'll be together years from now?" Melinda asked, sitting next to Dean with her bourbon still in her hand.

"You don't?" Dean raised the question, putting his arm around Melinda so she could lean into him.

"I guess sort of," Melinda admitted with a sigh, "I wonder whether you're gonna be alive a few years from now."

Now it was Dean's turn to frown, but then he realized what she meant. He quickly sat her up, so he could look into her eyes.

"I'm not Ben," he told her, "I know about demons, for one. And I can hold my own. There is never any need to worry about one of them getting the best of me."

"I'm glad you're so confident," Melinda told him, "I don't have the best track record for people staying alive when demons attack with me around."

"Hey, you're the one who saved me from my damned Hell deal," Dean pointed out, "And I survived you trying to kill me. I think it's safe to say your bad luck in that department is over."

Melinda smiled softly, but clearly didn't completely believe him. After all, history said something completely different.

* * *

**What do you think? Is the bad luck over for Mel? How about Mel and Dean's relationship? Could it withstand the test of time? What did you think of this chapter? I'd love to read your feedback! Until next time...  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three for y'all to enjoy :) Hope you do!**

Chapter 3

"I am never getting married!" Riley exclaimed as he walked back onto the garage floor. Dean looked over to him with a smirk, before continuing to work on the Audi A8 in front of him. Since he was temporarily living in San Francisco, Leo had agreed to him having a job at the garage. It made sense, considering how good Dean was with cars and it meant that he could live some sort of semi-legal life. The one issue Leo had was that Dean would disappear now and then on a hunt close by. He couldn't say anything to the hunter because innocents had to come first, but it wasn't exactly easy for business.

"I don't know if Pru would take too kindly to that," Dean pointed out to his half-demon colleague and friend, "She strikes me as the kinda girl who wants to get married."

"Yeah, I guess," Riley sighed, "As long as she doesn't expect me to do as much organizing as Dana is getting me to do right now. It's not even my wedding!"

"What's she got you doing?" Dean chuckled at the statement. He knew that Dana had handed out jobs to everyone and understood why. She was after the perfect wedding after her first one over 300 years ago. But it meant a lot of work, and she had charges to deal with since she was a whitelighter. Chris had a business to run, and he wasn't exactly one for all the finer details unless it involved food. Since Pru was a party planner, it made sense to get her involved, but that led to Riley having to help out. Dean was glad he came across as the most unromantic person around. People avoided him with wedding requests.

"Something to do with picking up some flowers on my lunch break. Dana has to choose between a couple of arrangement options and the florist has done miniature versions. Seriously, how much do you need for a big day?"

"I'd elope to Vegas," Dean chuckled, "None of this for me."

"Yeah, and I'm sure Mel would join you with that," Riley rolled his eyes and then frowned, "Are you thinking of getting married?"

"Me?" Dean suddenly looked up and shook his head quickly, "No, no, no, no!"

"That was too many nos."

"I don't even know if I'll be with Mel in a year's time. There's no way I'm thinking about marriage."

"And why wouldn't you be with her?" Riley now asked, frowning. Was there trouble in paradise?

"My life isn't for anyone," Dean pointed out honestly, "I may not be on the road all the time now, but once I gank Crowley then maybe I will be. It's not something Mel will want to join me on."

"Are you sure about that?" Riley questioned, "If it wasn't for her getting shot and poisoned two months ago, you two would have still been on the road."

Dean had to admit that his friend was right. He and Mel would have likely still been out on the road. They made a great team. It wasn't as good as his and Sammy's team, but that was just due to the time the two of them had been together. He knew that he could get to that point with Melinda.

He just had to remember that she could handle herself; and sometimes a lot better than he could handle himself. Mel's powers were useful, and she definitely knew how to handle them. Top that off with her ability to fight, and the spells she could quickly rattle off, she was perfect. All their arguments had been over Dean not trusting her to handle herself. It was his worry that something would happen to her, but it was a ridiculous worry. He'd seen Mel handle herself and take out demons on her own.

And when they did work together, it was great. It could be even better.

He'd love to be back on the road with her...maybe he could be. He could find a hunt for them this weekend. That was if she didn't have anything planned with P3...

"Hey! Earth to Winchester!"

Riley's voice snapped Dean out of his thoughts. He looked at his half-demon friend, with a guilty look on his face.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"About Mel by any chance?" Riley smirked, and then laughed at Dean's attempt at a poker face. Dean would never admit it, but Mel was on his mind most of the day, every day.

* * *

"Sam, can you get that bottle of Tequila down for me, please?" Melinda asked, after finally giving up trying to reach. She was just too damned short. That all came from being the daughter of Piper Halliwell. At 5-foot-4-inches, she was tiny. Why couldn't she have picked up some of her dad's genes for height? This was the one gene from her mother that she could have done without.

What made it worse was being surrounded by taller people. Her own boyfriend was over six-foot. He towered over her. At least she wasn't with Sam Winchester though. He was a foot taller than her, and made her feel like a child.

Thinking of Sam, he came out from the backroom of P3 and walked straight over to her. He had a crate of alcohol in his arms, which he placed on the bar.

"What did you say, Mel?" He asked and then saw her stood up on the step-ladder. He grinned realizing that she was admitting to be too short for something and looked at the top shelf, "What are you after?"

"The tequila, please." She sighed and got off the step ladder. He stepped on the top and reached up to grab the bottle. There was no strain or trouble getting hold of the bottle, making Melinda grumble under her breath.

"I never thought about you reaching them up there when I moved them, sorry." Sam apologized as he handed her the bottle. He'd been running the place while Melinda was on the road with Dean, and she'd left him running it since returning. It made more sense. Melinda was happier under the hood of a car, and he enjoyed having a legitimate job and being able to take control over something. Secretly, he was saving up some money to go back to college. He'd love to go back to law school, but was determined to see Crowley dead before doing anything. It gave him time to save for college, though.

Melinda unscrewed the top off the tequila, replacing it with the pouring top. She was getting everything ready for opening tonight. Wednesday night was the night for students, and she and Sam knew that the tequila was one of the most popular drinks. They would have two bottles ready to go just to start with.

"Your future sister-in-law just orbed by, by the way," Sam now pointed out as they both emptied the crate of beers that Sam had just brought out from the backroom, "She wanted to know if we could order something special in for the wedding day."

"Well, with only a month to go, it would depend on what she wanted." Melinda sighed.

"I've checked the list, and everything looks fine," Sam pointed out, "But I think she wants to do it without paying anything extra."

Melinda rolled her eyes at Sam's comment. Dana had already managed to encourage them to order in some champagne for the big day without any cost. It was just lucky that P3 was doing really well, especially now that Melinda was no longer drinking the profits. She had warned Dana and Chris that she couldn't do much more, though, but it wasn't like she was ever going to stop Dana from getting the big day she had dreamed of getting.

"I'll see what I can do. I've got a meeting with the accountant tomorrow, anyway." Melinda smiled and continued emptying the crate of beer. Just as she put the last bottle on the shelf, the crate exploded. Melinda and Sam both went into defensive mode as they saw a demon standing on the other side of the bar with an energy ball in hand.

The demon threw the energy ball at Melinda. Sam pushed her out of the way and took the hit, bashing his head on the bar as he dropped to the floor. Mel steadied herself and looked down at her boyfriend's brother.

"Sam?"

"I'm okay." Sam growled, sitting up. He was holding his shoulder where the energy ball had hit.

Melinda went straight into battle mode and flicked her fingers towards the demon. Blue bolts of electricity flew out of her fingers and hit the demon in the chest. He was vanquished in flames, but three demons shimmered in just behind him.

"Damn it." Melinda looked at each one, wondering which one was going after her first. While she carefully watched the demons, Sam had pulled out some potions from the pockets of his jeans. Chris had made sure he was always stocked up since living at the Halliwell Manor. There was never a warning when it came to demons.

Sam threw one of the potions at one of the demons, not really knowing what it would do. It turned out it mimicked the explosion power of Piper Halliwell, and was extremely powerful. The demon in the middle was vanquished, but the explosion sent the other two demons flying backwards.

Melinda ran to the other side of the bar, and held out her hand to one of the demons. He was vanquished instantly. Before the last demon had a chance to move, Sam had pulled out a knife from his belt and threw it, hitting the demon in the chest. The demon went up in flames, and the knife dropped to the empty space where the demon once stood.

The two looked at each other and glanced around them. That was far too easy? Something in Melinda's gut told her that either there were more coming or it was a distraction for something else.

Sam's cell phone ringing took her from her thoughts.

"Yeah, Dean?" Sam answered. His face turned to one of shock and confusion as he took in everything that his big brother told him, "Us too. Meet us at the Manor."

Sam quickly hung up and looked at Melinda, "Dean and Riley were attacked at the garage. We need to get to the Manor."

"I need to call Chris and Wyatt." Melinda agreed, rushing to the backroom for her purse so she could get in touch with her own two big brothers. This definitely seemed like some sort of distraction technique.

* * *

What they hadn't realized was that Wyatt and Bianca had been attacked at home at the same time. This time it was by a larger group of more powerful demons. It had really been the Twice Blessed and his family that they were after.

Wyatt groaned. He'd been knocked out in the attack. Demons had come up behind him with a surprise attack. He looked around and saw Bianca next to the bassinet. It was the bassinet that scared him the most. The bassinet had been thrown over. It was upside down, and all Wyatt could wonder was where his daughter was.

Rushing over the bassinet, he tipped it back over and looked between the blankets that were now all over the floor. Closing his eyes, he quickly sensed for her but there was nothing. Nothing at all.

"Wyatt?" Bianca's voice called out for him, weakly. It wasn't enough to pull him out of his thoughts, though. Someone was going to die for this.

He wasted no time grabbing Bianca and orbing them to the Halliwell Manor. He needed to whole family in on this one. When he got there, he was shocked by what he saw. The place looked destroyed. There had been a fight here, too.

"What the...Wyatt where's Xandra?"

"Stay here," Wyatt told her and started making his way between the downstairs rooms. He finally stopped when he saw a hand sticking out from behind the living room couch. It has a beautiful diamond ring on the wedding finger, making it clear to Wyatt that it was Dana. Rushing to his sister-in-law, he looked around and finally spotted Chris sitting on the couch, his head tilted forward.

"No, Chris!" Wyatt exclaimed as he saw the leg of the coffee table protruding from his stomach. Wyatt left the side of his future sister-in-law and rushed to his brother. He wasted no time in pulling the leg out of his brother's gut and healed the wounds. It wasn't too late, thank God!

"Chris!" Melinda's voice called out as the door to the Halliwell Manor slammed shut, "Oh God! Wyatt!"

Chris suddenly sat up with a sharp breath, as Dana groaned waking up. By now, Bianca had decided against Wyatt's instructions and rushed to Dana's side helping her best friend stand. Sam had followed Melinda into the house and looked around at the destruction.

"What happened?" Sam asked, and it was Chris who mumbled something about demons.

Before anything else could be said, blue and white lights filled the room and Dean was shimmered in by Riley. The blue and white lights formed into Hen, who had tears running down his face, holding a female's body in his arms.

"Wyatt, heal her! Please!"

* * *

**I've gotten into the action a lot quicker with this story than the previous ones. I just felt that it was needed with this one, since the characters and their relationships have all been set up now. What did you think of this chapter? I'd love to read your reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take so long to upload this chapter. I've been very busy with work and my daughter. I do get the weekend to myself, though, so I'm going to spend some time writing my stories, getting ahead with work next week and just enjoying myself. This really doesn't happen that often.**

**Anyway, that being said...here is the next chapter. Thank you for the review for the last chapter, and I'm sure this will answer your questions.**

Chapter 4

Hen placed the body of his wife on the floor and started pacing. Wyatt didn't ask any questions, but place his hands over the blonde-haired beauty. He panicked when nothing happened. Was it really too late? It couldn't be.

Dana realized that Wyatt was having trouble and rushed to Wyatt's side. She placed her own hands over Kelsey's body, hoping that the golden healing glow would appear. But it didn't.

"No, Wyatt, you need to!" Hen called out, "You need to. I can't lose her, too."

"What do you mean too?" Chris now asked, only able to watch as the scene played out in front of him.

"Demons attacked. They took Emily and Sarah," Hen explained, "I couldn't heal Kelsey, though."

Melinda covered her mouth in shock as she watched the whole events unfold. Just as she thought she was going to collapse, Dean grabbed her to hold her steady. She placed her head on his chest, tears streaming down her face. Dean's jaw clenched as he realized that the demons that had attacked him and Riley were all part of a bigger plan.

"Where's Xandra, Wyatt," Bianca asked again, as Hen collapsed to grab the body of his wife. He just cradled Kelsey, knowing that there was nothing anybody could do for her now, "Wyatt!"

Wyatt looked at his wife, tears in his eyes. The sadness soon changed to anger, "They took her. The demons."

Hen now looked up from his wife's body and locked eyes with Wyatt, "We need to find them."

"We will do," Wyatt had a dark sound to his voice, "And the demons are going to pay."

* * *

Melinda couldn't stand being in the same room as everyone else. Wyatt and Hen had instantly gone to create a plan of revenge. They didn't even know what they were up against, but they clearly wanted blood. Both had children they needed to save and Hen was out for blood for the death of his wife.

Dana and Bianca were sitting in the sun room with Kelsey's body covered by a sheet. They still needed to discuss what they were going to do about it. Dean and Sam had mentioned salting and burning the corpse, but none of the others wanted a hunter's funeral. That wasn't the Halliwell thing to do.

Chris and Riley had explained to the Winchesters that those close to them would get proper burials. They always got full funerals, and that was how it had to be for Kelsey. Hen wouldn't want anything different, and his daughters deserved to say goodbye to their mom properly once they were back. It was during that conversation that Melinda needed to escape.

She couldn't believe the family were going through all this again. It had been almost two years since Ben had been killed and then her mom. But it still felt like yesterday. The family was still moving on from all the sadness and heartbreak. She couldn't believe that they had been thrown this now.

To help her deal with it, she'd gone into the garage. The only car in there was Chris' Mini, but it was enough to help her think. She popped the hood and started working on giving it an oil change. It was better than sitting around doing nothing. She wasn't too certain right now what she could do. There were no leads to know which demon had caused this, and everyone was still really in a state of shock.

"I thought you'd come out here," Dean's voice distracted her from her thoughts. He had two bottles of beer in his hand, holding one out for her, "I thought you might appreciate this."

"You know me too well, Winchester." Melinda pointed out, taking a beer from him and drinking a quarter of it instantly. She leaned on the workbench, placing the bottle on it. She couldn't face anyone right now. This was part of the reason for the garage. She could run through her thoughts alone. But Dean wasn't going to let her be alone. He did know her too well, and knew the state she could get herself into.

Dean walked up behind Melinda, placing his own bottle on the workbench. He then rubbed her shoulders.

"Talk to me, Melinda." He simply instructed her, a gentleness in his voice. Somehow, he was still calm through all this. Maybe it was the fact that he'd seen so much death, or maybe it was because he just needed to be calm right now. Everyone else was panicking and struggling to deal with the events that had happened.

Demons had attacked everyone who could have possibly gone to help Wyatt and Hen. Groups of sacrificial demons had gone just to keep some of them occupied, while the main demons took the children. It was clear that the children were the focus the whole time.

"Why the kids?" Melinda asked, with a shake of her head, "Why take them and leave the rest of us? Of all the people to die, it was Kelsey. She was mortal. No threat to them at all. But they left the rest of us and took the kids. I mean, the demons that attacked Sam and me were pretty much cannon fodder. They were never meant to succeed."

"Same with the ones that attacked Riley and me," Dean agreed, "It was too easy to get rid of them. They were just supposed to be a distraction."

"So, why the kids?"

Deep down, Melinda knew why the kids. It was easier to turn them evil. It would also kill Wyatt and Hen; the eldest of both of their sides of the family. Destroying them would weaken the whole Halliwell family. It would make all of them easier to kill.

"Do they know who was behind this?" Melinda turned to face Dean, but the look in his eyes gave her the answers. Nobody had any idea of who orchestrated this attack. The Halliwells had plenty of enemies.

The anger was bubbling up in Melinda. Suddenly, she felt too constrained being in Dean's arms. She needed to fight. She needed to do something. Forcing his arms away from her, she turned and flipped the workbench with a scream.

Dean simply watched as she took her frustration out on the items around the garage. After the workbench, she moved to the worktop of tools, pushing them all onto the floor. They clanged on the floor, masking the sound of her banging the top and kicking the side of the cabinets. The lights were flickering like crazy, making it clear that her emotions were out of control. That was the sign for Dean to grab her again. It was the sign that she needed him to help reel it all in.

As soon as he wrapped her up in his arms, she started crying in frustration. He felt her body slump as fatigue overtook, and he helped her drop to the floor safely. He just knelt and held onto her, rubbing her hair and back as she cried into his chest. As the emotions overtook him, he felt a single tear fall down his cheeks. It may not have been his family by blood, but he counted the Halliwells as family. He wanted revenge just like everyone else, and he was going to make sure they all got it as well as the three kids back.

* * *

**So, hopefully that answers one question but raises more. I'll be getting more into this story soon and you will get the answers as to who was behind all this and why. I'd love to know what you think, though :) Please R&amp;R. Thank you!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Woohoo another chapter! Thanks for the feedback from the last one. It's time to get getting into this more...**

Chapter 5

The problem with parents is they think with their hearts. It wasn't really a problem, Dean noted, but it did affect the effectiveness of planning and thinking. Wyatt would usually go in with a plan, but right now he was working half-cocked. In fact, he wasn't even half-cocked. It was clear he had one thing on his mind, and that was getting answers.

Dean knew this wasn't going to work, but he wanted answers too. That was why he had made it clear that whatever plan Wyatt was going with, Dean was going to be beside him. Riley had said the same, so it led to the three friends in the attic creating some sort of plan to go down to the underworld and get some answers. Dean didn't really like the idea, but he did want the answers. And he wanted the chance to torture some answers out of the demons down there.

Wyatt had originally put up an argument against his friends coming along, but he quickly gave up the fight. He was just thankful that he had family and friends standing by him right now. They were all doing everything they could to find Xandra, Emily and Sarah.

"I've got the arrow root." Hen stated, walking back into the attic. He wasn't letting everyone else get revenge without him. Not only did he need to find his two daughters, he wanted revenge for the death of his wife. No demon was getting away with that happening. He still pictured her lifeless body lying over the end of the bed.

_Hen had walked into the house, hearing the commotion upstairs. Being a member of the Halliwell family, even if he didn't have that last name, meant that he was always on alert. Noises usually meant something bad, and he instantly went into attack mode as he made his way up the stairs._

"_No, mommy!" He could hear the sound of his seven-year-old scream out, "Let go of my mommy or I'll blow you up!"_

_There was someone else with her. He could hear a muffled threat from a man, and Hen needed no other invitation but to run into the master bedroom. That's where it sounded like Emily's shouting had come from. As he opened the door, he could see three men. They looked at Hen, their eyes turning black. Hen didn't have time to do anything to the demons, though. Two already had hold of two-year-old Sarah—who Hen hoped was just unconscious and not dead—and a kicking Emily. They disappeared with his girls._

_But Kelsey had been in the room with them. Emily had said something about the men not hurting her mom. That was when Hen's eyes moved to the third man in the room. He had an evil grin on his face, as he held Kelsey to him. Kelsey's had a look of fear in her eyes, as the demon held her neck._

"_You're too late." The demon simply said and then quickly snapped Kelsey's neck. He threw Kelsey's body on the bed and then disappeared. Hen could just run to his wife's lifeless body, knowing that there was nothing he could do. But he couldn't help hope that there was something; wish that there was something someone could do._

"Mel isn't going to like you coming along," Wyatt pointed out to Dean, as he took the arrow root from Hen and made a potion, "You should stay here."

"With all due respect, Wyatt, you and Hen aren't thinking clearly here," Dean pointed out, "Riley and I are coming with you to make sure you two don't do anything stupid."

"What he said." Riley agreed with the Winchester. There was no arguing with either of them, and Wyatt could see that. He looked at Hen, but wasn't going to get any backup from him. Hen's brown eyes were much darker than usual. He didn't care about anything now except getting his daughter's back. Wyatt didn't know how he'd cope if a demon had killed Bianca as well as kidnapping his daughter. He was surprised to see that Hen was still standing right now.

"Well, the potion's ready. Let's go get us some demons."

* * *

"They are not getting away with taking my baby, Dana!" Bianca screamed at her friend, unable to control her emotions. Wyatt hadn't let her see the mess of the living room, but she's snuck back afterwards. She saw the mess of the bassinet, and could only image what had happened to her little girl. She couldn't believe that her five-month-old had been the intended victim.

The problem was that she didn't know whether her daughter was dead or alive. Her thoughts jumped back to two months ago when Melinda had been evil. Fear went through her one night all because Melinda had threatened to kill Xandra. She'd managed to forgive her sister-in-law due to the poison that was running through her veins, but it took a long time to trust her with Xandra alone. In fact, she still felt uneasy with her sister-in-law around her daughter.

But this was ten-times worse. She had no idea who had taken her, and Wyatt had gone off to get revenge alone. She was expected to sit around and do nothing.

Well, it wasn't going to happen. Bianca made her way up the stairs of her house, but was quickly stopped by Dana.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to deal with this the best way I know how," Bianca pointed out and glanced at Melinda and Pru, who were just behind Dana, "None of you can stop me. I will not just sit around..."

"I'm coming with you then." Melinda shrugged her shoulders.

"No," Bianca shook her head, unsure of why she was refusing to let this happen. She could do with help with her plan, "No, Melinda."

"You're not stopping me," Melinda shook her head, "I'm going to help you find my niece. If you don't let me come with you, I'll get to the underworld myself. Maybe I'll ask Riley to take me to the demon bar."

"Mel, this is suicide for the two of you!" Dana shrieked at the idea of them going on a revenge mission, "Pru, you need to talk some sense into them."

"I can't," Pru shook her head, "I can't when I agree with them," Pru then turned to Bianca, "I'm coming too. You're gonna need help, and who better than two powerful witches."

"Wait until I tell your brothers about this!" Dana warned Melinda before orbing out. But Melinda didn't care. She could tell Wyatt and Chris, she could even tell Dean. She was going to help Bianca get her niece back.

* * *

"Wyatt has gone to the underworld," Chris informed his two aunts. Paige was pacing the floor, heartbroken at the death of hear daughter-in-law and kidnapping of her granddaughters. Phoebe just sat at the kitchen table, nervously tapping her foot. They hated the idea of not being able to do anything, "Hen went with him."

"Of course he did," Paige sighed, "My son won't stop until Emily and Sarah are back here. And Wyatt..."

"Wyatt won't stop until Xandra is here and the demon responsible is long gone," Phoebe admitted, "I have to admit, he scares me when he gets like this."

"Dean and Riley have gone with them," Chris informed his aunts, as Dana orbed into the room. She didn't bother with any pleasantries as she told Chris everything that had happened at Bianca's, "What do you want me to do?"

"You need to stop your sister and cousin before they get themselves killed."

"Cousin?" Phoebe now looked up, "Who went with Bianca to the underworld exactly?"

"Pru." Dana said, waiting for Phoebe to explode over her eldest daughter getting involved in dangerous work. However, it was a completely different reaction. Phoebe simply looked at Paige with a soft smile.

"Sometimes it's a good thing that this family is so close." Phoebe offered.

"What the hell! They could get themselves killed while down there!" Dana exclaimed at the three Halliwells in the room.

"What do you want me to do, Dana?" Chris shouted, "My niece is God knows where, along with Hen's daughters. And Hen's wife is lying dead in the sunroom. We don't know anything. _They're_ not telling us anything, unless you've neglected something, and Riley couldn't find anything out at the demon bar. We have no other choice but for everyone to go to the underworld. If Bianca and Wyatt can get into different areas with their little groups, then maybe someone will come back with answers."

"Wyatt? What do you mean Wyatt? He's gone to the Underworld, too?"

"With Hen." Chris nodded.

Dana shook her head, her whitelighter instincts kicking in. She just wanted her family safe. She may not have married Chris yet, but this was her family. They'd welcomed her into their world with open arms. It seemed like everything was crashing down on them. She didn't want to lose any one of them.

The 300-year-old whitelighter continued to argue with her husband-to-be about getting them back. They needed to think about this rationally. Instead, Chris was letting both his siblings go to the dangerous Underworld. Paige and Phoebe didn't even seem bothered that their children had gone with them.

"Stop acting like their whitelighter, Dana," Paige finally told the young-looking blonde, "Think about this as a mother. What would you do if it was your daughter taken?"

Dana shook her head. She didn't know. That was one thing that she had never had, and she couldn't imagine herself with children right now. She wasn't even a wife yet.

"You would do everything possible," Phoebe answered for her, "You might not think so right now, but you would."

"I can't let them all go down there and die, though," Dana shook her head, tears now forming in her eyes. Deep down, she knew the eldest living Charmed One was right. She would do everything, and she understood that Bianca, Wyatt and Hen were going to do everything. But that didn't mean they all had to risk their lives, certainly not Mel and Pru, "What about Dean? He wouldn't want Mel down there."

"Dean has gone down to the Underworld with Wyatt and Hen." Sam said as he walked into the kitchen. He'd been waiting outside for a while, hearing the shouting. He couldn't decide whether he was angry at Dean risking his life in the Underworld or not, but hearing Paige and Phoebe helped him decide that he understood. Dean would never admit it, but he would make a great father and he was thinking like one now.

"What do you mean Dean went to the Underworld?" Paige had panic in her voice now, and Phoebe's expression had changed to one with a mixture of fear and worry. Sam frowned with confusion. Why were they so worried? "He has no powers. Without powers..."

"Wyatt made sure he has potions to protect himself, and he can fight, Paige," Sam explained, "And Riley went down with them, too. Dean said he had to go to make sure Wyatt and Hen didn't do anything stupid. Unlike them, he can think rationally right now."

As much as the Charmed Ones didn't like the idea, they had to admit that he was right. Wyatt and Hen wouldn't be able to think rationally. They would do anything and everything to get their children back. Dean and Riley, while connected in some way, were not quite as emotionally invested. They could tell when it was going too far or it was too dangerous. One thing that Sam wondered to himself was whether his brother would take the step back if it was too dangerous. Dean had a bad habit of putting himself in harm's way with his hero complex.

While everyone else was in the Underworld, it left Chris, Sam and the Charmed Ones to get back to research. They needed to work out who had taken the children and why.

Before they could do anything, a pink heart appeared in the middle of the room. The heart turned to a pink glow and Patience, Phoebe's middle daughter, appeared in the glow. She had tears streaming down her face.

"I saw it, mom!" Patience cried, looking directly at her mother, "I saw her kill Emily, Sarah and Xandra."

"Saw who?" Phoebe stood up from the chair and rushed to her daughter.

"I don't know. But I saw their deaths!"

Sam and Chris looked into each other's eyes, as Patience collapsed into her mother's arms. They were both determined that this was not going to happen.

* * *

**So, I hope this is entertaining you guys enough! I'd love to hear what you think of the chapter. Thanks in advance!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter. I'm jumping straight into the action for this chapter, so I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 6

Dean held his stomach as he got his bearings back. Damn, shimmering wasn't all that fun, but it was the best way to get into the Underworld. Orbing would give it away that they were there, whereas shimmering didn't involve the bright lights. Dean would much prefer to get back top-side, though, where he could drive! _At least it didn't involve planes, though_, he couldn't help but think to himself.

Wyatt and Hen led the way as they made their way through the Underworld. Dean couldn't help but throw Riley a cautious glance. Was it really a good idea to let them lead the way? Wyatt did know the Underworld better than Dean, but not as well as Riley. But Dean knew deep down that if this was his child there was no way he'd allow anyone else to lead the way.

They had discussed a plan when they were still at the Halliwell Manor, but Dean doubted the two Halliwell cousins would stick to it. They were following their hearts. They needed to get their little girls back.

It didn't take long for them to go off the plan. They decided to split up when they came to a fork in the cavern corridor they were in.

"You go with Wyatt," Riley sighed, "I'll stick with Hen."

Dean just nodded his head and followed his friend.

"Wyatt, we weren't going to split up." Dean said to his friend in a low whisper, making it clear that he did not like this idea.

"We had no choice," Wyatt kept his eyes trained in front of him. There was anger in his voice, and Dean wasn't sure whether it was at him or at the demons that had taken his baby girl, "Hen and Riley will be safe. I need Xandra back."

"We all want her back, Wyatt," Dean said, "But getting yourself killed isn't going to do that. We could check out this tunnel after the other."

"She might not have enough time, Dean," Wyatt said, without stopping. Finally Dean shook his head and grabbed his friend's arm. Wyatt's anger was now fully aimed at Dean, "What?"

"You'll get us both killed."

"If this was the other way round, you know you'd do the same," Wyatt said, "You sold your fucking soul to bring your brother back from the dead, so you can't deny it."

"Xandra needs you alive," Dean warned, not really wanting to remember the events of the last year and a half, "You're no good to her dead. We need to do this cautiously."

The sound of heavy footsteps cut them off.

"Get down!" Riley shouted out as he and Hen ran towards them from the direction the two had come. Dean pulled Wyatt into a crevice in the tunnel, just as a fireball fired past them. Riley and Hen had ducked in time, having an idea that it was coming.

Just behind them, a group of demons came charging down the tunnel. Hen was the first to react. He grabbed Riley and then the two pushed Dean and Wyatt down the tunnel and into an open space. From there, they would be able to defend themselves a little better.

* * *

Bianca ducked as a warlock roundhouse-kicked her. She quickly kicked her right leg out, tripping the warlock up and held out her hand. An athame suddenly appeared and she stabbed the warlock in the chest. He disappeared in blackness, giving her chance to look up and survey the scene.

They'd been attacked as soon as they got into the Underworld. It was like evil knew they were coming.

_Of course they did,_ Bianca thought to herself. They knew she wouldn't let them take her daughter without a fight.

Pru and Mel were both handling themselves. Pru had a good control of her freezing power, so was able to handle groups of demons at a time. Unfortunately, her power wasn't strong enough in the Underworld to handle the whole lot at the same time. Mel was an excellent fighter—Phoebe Halliwell had trained her, after all—and she had enough potions to back up her electrocution power.

Bianca decided that this was the perfect chance to get some answers. She grabbed a warlock that was about to attack her from behind. Flipping him over her shoulder, she put all her weight on him and then quickly threw a potion on the ground from her pocket. A force field surrounded around them. It would give her a few minutes of protection to get some answers.

Holding the athame to the warlock's neck, she looked deep into his eyes, "What have you done with her?"

"With who?" The warlock simply answered. Not the right answer! Bianca hit him with the handle of the athame.

"Don't play games with me," Bianca warned him, "You do not want to piss of a mother Phoenix."

"You may be Phoenix by species, but you're not assassin anymore," the warlock warned, "You don't have what it takes to be a true Phoenix."

Bianca hit him again and glared into his eyes, "Where is she?"

"You might as well kill me. I'm not going to give you the answers you want."

Bianca wanted to try again, but the force field disappeared. She didn't have a second potion, so had no choice but to vanquish the warlock with a stab of her knife.

She looked back around at the scene, just as Mel used her electrocution power to vanquish three demons at a time. They had one left that Mel was just about to electrocute.

"Wait!" Bianca called out, "Pru, freeze him."

Pru did as she was told, and Bianca rushed over to Mel and was soon joined by Pru, "Can you unfreeze his head? I want answers while I can get them."

Pru nodded her head and flicked her wrists in a similar fashion to her Aunt Piper. The demon's head unfroze. He looked down at his still frozen body and then looked back at the three women with fear in his eyes.

"You should be afraid," Bianca warned him, holding the athame in front of his eyes, "Now, where is she? Where is my daughter!"

* * *

Chris franticly tried to scry for his brother, cousin and two friends. But he knew that they would be in the Underworld. The scrying wouldn't work down there. He should have created that map of the Underworld that Hen's sister Holly had suggested a few years ago. It was a great idea, but they had no idea about all the nooks and crannies of the Underworld. Even with Bianca and Riley's help, it wasn't feasible. If only...

While he did that, Paige worked on a spell. Phoebe helped as much as she could, while hugging Patience. The poor middle daughter was struggling with the premonition that she had received. It had been a dream premonition, so Patience had felt everything that had happened. She felt all the emotions running through the veins of the four that were about to be killed. It was unlike any promotion Phoebe Halliwell had ever received.

Sam looked through the Book of Shadows as quickly as he could. Once he found the spell that he needed, he looked up at Chris.

"Here!"

Chris put the scrying crystal down and rushed to the younger Winchester brother. He looked down at the blood to blood spell. Hopefully this would at least bring Wyatt back. Then Wyatt could take them to the others to save the three of them. That was Chris' current plan anyway.

The only problem was he knew he'd get Mel back. While he worried about his little sister, the premonition hadn't involved her. He assumed that she was getting answers with Bianca. Wyatt, Dean, Hen and Riley were the ones who were in the most danger right now.

Chris ignored that downside right now, and quickly threw together everything that he would need into a bowl. He then grabbed a knife and stood over to say the spell. He didn't even flinch when he had to cut his hand, allowing the drops of blood to drop into the bowl.

Of course, Mel appeared in front of him. Luckily, so did Wyatt.

"What the hell are you doing, Chris?" Wyatt growled at his little brother.

"Quick, take us back to where you came from." Chris didn't reply, and just grabbed his brother and sister's hands. They could get to Bianca and Pru after saving the others.

* * *

Dean kicked the demon back as it backed him into a corner. He hated being trapped, especially when the demons against him had powers. The only reason he had ended up like this was because of the powers. One of the demons had telekinetically thrown him backwards, and then he had to quickly roll out of the way of an athame coming down towards his chest. The athame had cut his arm, but he refused to let the demon realized that he had managed that.

He was now surrounded—see, corners sucked—so he could do only one thing. He pulled the Colt out from the back of his jeans and started shooting at the demons. With his excellent aim, he hit the demons in the head or chest right away. The problem was that there were more demons than bullets. He would be out very soon, and then he'd be back to the combat.

"Enough!"

Suddenly all the demons stopped. Dean frowned, not recognizing the voice. As the demons turned and knelt, Dean was even more confused. In front of him was a girl, no more than eight. They were kneeling towards an eight-year-old?

"This has been fun, but I'm bored," the young brunette girl said, looking at everyone. Dean took this chance to glance around the cavern they were in. Riley and Hen were still standing, also looking confused. Wyatt was gone.

Where was Wyatt? Panic ran through Dean's veins. He hadn't heard Wyatt go down, and he definitely hadn't seen him drop. He couldn't see him now. Had Wyatt abandoned them? No, he wouldn't do that but there was a chance that he'd ran off following a lead. Why didn't the damn boy tell someone?

Dean was so busy paying attention to Wyatt's whereabouts that he missed the young girl walking over to Hen.

"Don't worry. Your daughters are safe," she told him, "I'd never harm a child."

"Give me my daughters back." Hen growled at the child demon.

"Well, I can't do that, silly," the girl replied with a childish giggle, "But I can take you to see them one last time. Before I kill you and your friends, of course."

"We'll kill you before you get a chance." Riley informed the young girl, stepping towards her. The girl flung out her left hand, causing the half-manticore to grab his chest. His brown eyes went wide as he dropped to his knees. The girl turned her hand upwards and then balled it into a fist, slowly. Riley cried out in pain, tears streaming down his face.

"Let him go!" Dean warned the young girl. He wanted to rush to his friend, but the girl looked at him with white eyes. He'd never seen white eyes before, and he couldn't help but show her just how worried he was. The girl laughed at him.

"What are you going to do if I don't, Dean?"

She knew his name? How did she know his name? Who was this girl?

"Everyone except Dean, Henry and Riley here can leave." The girl ordered and all the demons rushed out of the cavern.

"Who are you?" Hen now asked. The girl looked at him with an excited grin and dropped her hand. Riley dropped to the ground with an audible sigh. Dean rushed to his friend, making sure he was okay. Meanwhile, the girl jumped towards Hen.

"I was hoping one of you would ask," she held out her hand as she spoke, "The name's Lilith."

* * *

**Well, it was about time Lilith turned up, right? What did you think of the chapter? Will Wyatt, Chris and Mel get back to them in time? **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi. Thanks again for the support for this story. So, I'm getting straight in with this chapter for you to enjoy.**

Chapter 7

Dean knew that name. He remembered Ruby mentioning it once upon a time. This child was the demon that had destroyed the whole police station? She was the one that had ordered all demons to hold Dean and Sam in the station when they were arrested by Agent Hendrickson? He thought it stupid until he remembered the white eyes. He'd never seen white eyes before, and knew they must mean she was powerful.

"Now you know my name..." the girl said and held out her hand. Just before anything could happen, orbs filled the area. Wyatt reappeared with Chris and Mel.

"Hey!" Chris shouted out and wave his arm. Lilith flew through the air. It gave Chris and Wyatt a chance to rush over to the group. Mel made her way over to Lilith and held her hands out. Electricity flew from her hands, hitting Lilith.

Dean grinned as he watched his girlfriend, but the grin soon disappeared. Lilith just laughed while she was being "electrocuted." It was doing nothing to her. Mel stopped and stumbled back in shock.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Lilith laughed and then held her hand out. Melinda flew through the air and hit the wall hard. Her head hit with a loud crack, and she collapsed to the ground. Chris rushed over to his sister, but not before telling Wyatt and Hen to get everyone out of there.

In an instant, Wyatt grabbed Dean and Riley, orbing them out. Hen followed suit after seeing Chris orb out with Melinda.

"What the hell happened down there?" Paige asked, rushing to her son to make sure he wasn't hurt. Dean looked around to see Phoebe holding Patience on the couch, but decided that he would ask about that later.

As soon as Chris orbed in with Melinda, Wyatt rushed over and went to work healing her.

"Why did we have to get out of there?" Hen now asked, looking around at everyone.

"You were going to die," Patience cried, "I saw it. I felt it all, Hen."

"I need to find my daughters," Hen pointed out, "She knew where they were. She has them."

"She was going to kill you, Hen," Chris shook his head, "You'd be no good to them dead."

Hen couldn't really argue. He trusted his cousin's premonitions and knew Wyatt wouldn't have gotten out of there if it wasn't for a good reason. But that didn't mean he had to ignore it.

"She's got some power." Riley said, as he was helped up by Dean, "I swear she was going to rip my heart out of my chest. I've never felt power like that. Not even yours, Wyatt."

Wyatt helped his now healed sister sit up and threw Riley a concerned look.

"What about Bianca and Pru?" Mel now asked, looking around the room.

"Where are they?" Chris asked his sister, but before she could answer the two shimmered in with a demon. Wyatt looked at the demon with concern but quickly called out for the crystals, laying them around the demon.

"Where the hell did you go?" Bianca looked at Melinda and then glanced around the room, "What's going on?"

"We've got a major problem," Dean now spoke up and looked over at Sam, who was standing by the Book of Shadows, "It's Lilith."

* * *

Lilith stormed into her home, angry at the situation. She had gone down to the Underworld—somewhere she despised—to kill the Twice Blessed and his family and friends. She wanted all of them dead. That was the best way to make this plan work.

Instead, she'd been beaten to it. That half-Elder brat had come in and saved the day. He'd warned them that she was going to kill them. She would have done if it wasn't for him. She wasn't ready for him when he threw her against the wall. Luckily when it came to the girl's power, she'd been ready. Her defenses were back up.

"I want the Twice Blessed dead!" Was the one order she'd given them before returning home. She stormed past the parents of the girl that she was currently possessing and made her way straight to the basement of the home. She'd made it very clear to her parents that they were not to disturb her while down there.

The parents, of course, were terrified of her. Lilith had possessed this body a few months ago, and made it very clear that she meant business. The first thing she did was kill the girl's grandfather in front of the parents. Really, she wanted to kill one of the parents, but the grandfather was annoying her far too much. He was old, slow and just a waste of time.

As she walked down the stairs to the basement, she could hear sobbing.

"Stop sobbing!" Lilith ordered, "There's no need for it. You're safe here."

"Please, let us go!" A young boy asked from somewhere in the room. Lilith rolled her eyes and clicked her fingers. The lights in the basement turned on and now she could see everyone. There were cages against the walls of the basement, and each cage had a child. Every child was important for her plan. She needed the magical children to work on opening the first seal to release Lucifier.

Dean Winchester had ruined her plans almost six months ago. Well, Dean, his brother, the Halliwells and that damned Crowley. He was supposed to bring Dean's soul to Hell. As soon as he broke, that would start the release of her Lord and Master. She would deal with Crowley later, but right now she needed to deal with the Winchesters and Halliwells. She would make them all regret not letting Dean to Hell.

Dean will beg to go to Hell and start breaking the seals by the time she was finished with them all.

Lilith walked over to one cage in particular. There sat a seven-year-old blonde girl, cradling a five-month-old baby. A three-year-old blonde huddled next to her big sister, staring at Lilith in fear.

"Please let us go home." The seven-year-old asked.

"Now, now, Emily," Lilith smiled sweetly, "You, Sarah and Alexandra will go home very soon. I promise."

And they would. Just not in the way that they wanted to. Not in the way that the Halliwells would want them returned.

* * *

**I know the chapter was a little shorter than normal, but this whole story is shorter than the others. Please don't hold that against me. It's just the way it flowed. There are another 7 chapters (possibly 8) left of the story, so I hope you enjoy it. I'd love to hear what you thought about this chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

**It is getting to crunch time. Thank you again for the feedback for the last chapter. I made a mistake when I said there were 7/8 chapters to go. This story actually has 19 chapters! I was thinking about the previous On the Path story. Sorry! So a little bit longer, but I really hope you'll stick around.**

Chapter 8

"I can't just sit around and wait for a plan," Wyatt warned his little brother, pacing the floor, "My daughter is down there..."

"Mine too." Hen spoke up. The three of them and Sam were in sun room going through all their options. Phoebe had taken Patience home, and Paige was now passing on the news to the rest of the family about what had happened. Riley had had to go home after his attack, leaving Dean, Mel, Pru and Bianca upstairs to get answers from the demon.

"We need to find out where they are, first," Chris sighed. He hated sitting around, too, but he couldn't risk letting them go back down to the Underworld. He wouldn't let his cousin's premonition come true, "And we need to know what we're dealing with."

"Sam, you and Dean have heard of this demon before," Wyatt said, looking directly at the younger Winchester brother, "What do you know?"

"Not much," Sam admitted, "Ruby knew everything about her. At least, I think she did. The last time we heard about Lilith, she almost killed Dean and me."

As the group of Halliwells frowned, Sam continued his story. He told them about him and Dean getting arrested and Dean getting shot when they were supposed to be taking them to FBI headquarters. He worried if that would start of new questions about that, but everyone was too focused on the current events. He knew there would be questions at a later date, but was grateful he could just get on with the story.

"Lilith had realized that we were trapped and arranged for demons to stall us while she came to kill me," Sam went on, "Luckily, the FBI agent, Agent Hendrickson, started to believe us after he killed a possessed sheriff. We got a plan together and dealt with the possessed townspeople trapping us in the police station. Dean and I got away, but she killed everyone in the station. Officials said it was a gas explosion but..."

"It was definitely Lilith?" Hen questioned, narrowing his eyes.

"That's what Ruby said," Sam nodded his head, "She's powerful."

"She's just a kid." Hen shook his head, making Sam frown.

"She couldn't be no more than 10," Chris agreed, "Why would a demon want to possess the body of a 10-year-old."

"It has to be something to do with her plan," Wyatt growled, "She's taken our children. What if she's taken others?"

"I cannot stand in there for another minute!" Pru snapped the men out of their thoughts as she made her way into the sunroom, "I can't watch it anymore."

"Watch what?" Chris asked with a frown.

"Dean and Bianca!" Pru shook her head, "They're dangerous."

Chris understood from that moment what his cousin meant. They'd allowed Dean and Bianca to torture the demon to get some answers. Mel and Pru had said they'd stay up there to help, but Chris did wonder how long it would take for them to leave.

"I'll go see if I can help." Hen said, before standing and leaving the room. He wasn't giving anyone a chance to hold him back.

"Have they found anything out, yet?" Wyatt asked his cousin, hoping with everything he had that the answer would be yes.

"I don't even know if this guy knows anything," Pru shook her head, "I'm sorry, Wyatt."

Wyatt sighed and looked down to the floor. Tears filled his eyes as fear took over. Was he ever going to see his little girl again?

"We'll get her back," Sam told his friend, "We'll find out what Lilith is up to and how to find her."

"And how are we going to do that?" Wyatt asked. On the outside, it almost looked like he was giving up and that worried Chris. Wyatt wouldn't just give up without a fight.

"I've got contacts," Sam suggested, "I'll call Bobby and see what he knows."

* * *

Hen had walked in to find that they certainly didn't need his help. Dean and Bianca were causing enough pain for the whole Halliwell family. He sat next to Melinda, watching and smiling at the demon screaming in pain.

Melinda sat on Aunt Pearl's couch as Dean and Bianca tortured the demon. They're eventually gotten rid of the circle of crystals and placed the demon in a devil's trap instead. It meant that Dean and Bianca could get in to cause real pain to the demon, without putting their lives at risk.

The young Halliwell wasn't sure whether she agreed with their tactics. They weren't exactly providing results. She knew that there was a spell they could use, but she'd have to get everyone else out of the house first. She'd heard the stories of her Aunt Prue using the spell when her mom and Aunt Phoebe were in the house. It had some strange side effects.

But the spell was going to be a last resort. Bianca knew of the spell and believed they could extract the information they needed this way. Mel wondered whether it was really just a way to take her frustrations out for demons taking her daughter.

Mel checked her watch. They'd been up here for two hours already, and they still didn't have anything that could help them. She did wonder whether the demon even knew anything. Something told her that he didn't.

"Okay guys, my turn," Mel said, deciding that she was going to try, "Let's see how he likes electric shock therapy."

Dean narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend. He didn't really want Melinda watching him as he tortured the demon, but she wasn't leaving. The one thing that he worried about was her seeing a completely different side to him. He didn't want her seeing the evil that could come out in him when it came to these creatures.

He wondered whether she'd had enough until she saw the glint in her moss-colored eyes. It matched the look he once saw in Sam's eyes when he'd been possessed. It was the look that she had two months ago when she'd been infected with the poison to turn her evil.

"You're going to tell us what you know." Melinda told the demon, walking around to stand behind him. Dean watched the electricity play around in her hands. It was a sign that she was getting warmed up for something big, and he had to admit that he found it was a little sexy. Now if only she could get rid of the darkness in her eyes. Is that the look he had when he was torturing demons?

"I'm not telling you anything." The demon laughed, as if the previous rounds of torture had done nothing. He wasn't ready for the feeling of electricity into his brain and through his body as Melinda put her hands to either side of his head. The demon's mouth clenched shut and he cried out in pain. Melinda released his head and waited while the demon got his breath back. Before asking him anything else, she placed her hands either side of his head again.

The demon's whole body straightened as much as it could as he was tied in the chair. Dean watched carefully as he moved to stand by Bianca.

"I'm not sure about this."

"This isn't her first rodeo," Bianca sighed, "She can be better than me when it comes to torture at times."

Dean raised his eyebrows at that comment. He'd just been with Bianca torturing the demon, and she'd rivalled him at it. Dean knew that was the assassin side of the Phoenix. He'd heard about her original life as a Phoenix witch, but she'd turned her back on her family's business; choosing to protect innocents with Wyatt instead. However, she hadn't forgotten her training.

"Tell me what you know!" Melinda yelled, pulling Dean out of his thoughts, "Or do you want another shock?"

"I'm not telling you anything!" The demon screamed at her as she placed her hands either side of his head again. This continued four or five times before Melinda walked back to Dean and Bianca.

"He doesn't know anything," she said with confidence, "He'd have said something by now if he did. Lilith is smart not telling her lackeys everything. After all, demons are idiots."

"She's told me stuff," the demon now said, "I know her plan!"

"Yeah right," Melinda laughed, looking at the demon not believing a word he said, "She knew there was a chance you'd get captured. She knew she was targeting Halliwells. And she would have known all about me, Wyatt, Bianca and even the Winchesters. There's no way she would have told you anything important."

Dean and Bianca could just watch as Melinda and the demon argued back and forth. They slowly started to realize what the demon was doing—and what Mel was doing.

"Why didn't we think of this?" Bianca now asked Dean in a whisper, just as the demon finally shared some information.

"She told me all about the seal that she is breaking," the demon told his captors, "Lucifer will rise."

"Dean's not in Hell," Melinda shook her head, "Without the first seal..."

"She's found out about another seal that can be broken instead," the demon laughed, looking deep into Mel's green eyes. Dean and Bianca stepped forward as the demon let loose about the plan, "The destruction of the 66. Your kids are just part of the 22 witch sacrifices."

Suddenly the demon went up in flames, screaming at the top of his lungs. Melinda jumped back, falling into Dean.

"What happened?" Bianca asked.

"I didn't do anything," Melinda shook her head and then looked at Bianca with realization, "Someone didn't want him telling us anything else."

"But at least we got something," Dean pointed out, "Let's find out about this seal and stop it before it breaks."

* * *

**Uh oh...what is this seal and will they get to the kids in time? More will come soon. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this chapter.  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey! So, here's another chapter for the story. I'm not sure how many people are reading this, but I hope you're enjoying it! I know people have been wondering about Castiel since I took the first story from season three, so here comes the angels...**

Chapter 9

"She's breaking a seal?" Chris frowned, as he took everything that Melinda had said in, "But I thought Dean going to Hell was the first seal."

"Actually, Dean giving into torturing innocent people in Hell would have been the first seal," Dana pointed out and then looked at Dean, who just frowned at the idea. He didn't really want to think about what he would have been put through had he gone to Hell.

"But if that seal hasn't been broken..." Wyatt started, trying to take it all in. His daughter was going to be used as a sacrifice. His and Hen's daughters were all somewhere and could die at any point.

"This is a different option for a seal," Mel explained, "That's what the demon said, anyway."

"The Elders agree," Dana agreed with her soon-to-be sister-in-law, "This was just a bigger seal to break. It would take more time. Lilith believed that Dean breaking while in Hell would take less time. No offence."

Dean didn't say anything, but shrugged his shoulders. Again, he didn't really want to think about what his time in Hell could have been like. As much as he'd like to think that he wouldn't have broken, he knew deep down that he'd have eventually given in. He would have started torturing people. Nobody could go an eternity of being tortured.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a touch. Melinda had grabbed his hand, rubbing it gently. He looked into her soft green eyes with a grateful smile. Just the slightest touch from her could help sooth his thoughts.

"So, what is this seal?" Sam now asked, "I can't find anything in the books."

"It's a three-parter," Dana explained, "66 people have to be killed, but there are three sets of 22."

"22 witches," Melinda nodded her head, remembering what the demon had said, "What are the others?"

"22 angels," Dana explained, "And 22 demons."

"Angels?" Dean questioned, "As in whitelighters?"

"We're not angels, Dean," Dana shook her head, "We're a little like guardian angels but there are actual angels. They're The Elders' bosses."

"So, angels as in Biblical angels?" Wyatt now asked with a frown, "The only angels I can think of are the Angels of Destiny and the Angel of Death."

"The Angel of Death?" Dean now questioned but then put his hand up before anyone could explain, "You know what, never mind. Just continue please, Dana."

"Yes, there are Biblical angels. And there's the Archangels. How else do you think there'd be Lucifer?"

"He was a fallen angel." Sam nodded his head, as he started typing at the laptop.

"I don't know much about the angels. I never see them," Dana explained, "But I do know the Elders are worried. The three rituals have to happen at a specific time of year."

"Let me guess, on a full moon?" Mel questioned with a roll of her eyes. Dana nodded her eyes. It was the standard mythical/magical ritual need. Or so it seemed.

"It happens over the three days of the full moon," Dana bit her bottom lip, "I can't see it being a problem for Lilith to have 22 demons, and she may already have her 22 witches. We don't know about the angels. Apparently there are orders for them to stay in Heaven for now until They find out any more."

"The full moon is in a week," Chris pointed out, "If she doesn't have the angels already, she'll be going after them. Something tells me that she knows how to get them or she knows another way to see this ritual through."

"We need to act fast," Wyatt now said, "My daughter is not going to be part of a ritual. I will not let her die."

As Wyatt's words remained in the air, Dean sighed and realized the best thing they could do right now was to get some rest. He doubted anyone could, but it was needed. They had a very long week ahead of them.

"Let's call it a night for now," he told the group, "We all need rest. It's not like we can do anything right now, anyway."

"We can research..." Melinda started but her brother cut her off.

"Dean's right," Chris sighed, "There's nothing to research right now. Dana, can you find out if _They_ know anything about the angels and warn us if any of them are missing?"

"Of course." Dana nodded and orbed out.

"There's nothing for the rest of us to do." Chris looked at everyone in turn. They all knew it was true, but it didn't make it any easier.

"I can't sleep knowing she is out there, Chris," Wyatt shook his head, "I'm staying up to..."

"To do what, Wyatt?" Chris now asked, "There is nothing for any of us to do. Go home to Bianca. You both need each other right now."

Wyatt sighed, knowing his brother was right. After agreeing, he orbed out to the one person who really did need him right now.

Dean pulled Melinda out of the Halliwell kitchen so they could go home.

"I can't leave here, Dean." Melinda shook her head and pulled him up to her old room at the house. Dean just nodded his head and followed her up the stairs. It felt strange, knowing that he'd be just down the hall from Mel's dad and older brother, but he got that she needed to be here right now. It was safer with as many of them under one roof anyway.

As Dean shut the bedroom door, he kept his eyes trained on his girlfriend. Without warning, she broke down in tears. Dean rushed to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Hey, I'm here," he told her soothingly, kissing the top of her head, "I'm here."

After a few moments, Melinda pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes, "I just couldn't do that down there. Wyatt needs strength from us right now."

"I know." Dean nodded and pulled her back into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and looked up. Their green eyes met and Dean couldn't help but grab her face and kiss her deep. Everything with Xandra and Hen's two daughters was getting to him. He needed to feel comfort and love, and he could get that from Melinda.

"Dean, we shouldn't..." Melinda said, but pulled him back to the bed anyway. Their kisses started to get hungry and needy. It was like both needed the comfort from each other.

"Then stop me." Dean whispered to her, refusing to stop on his own accord. He needed to hear from her that she didn't want this.

"I don't want to." Mel admitted, making Dean smile inwardly. That was just what he wanted to hear.

Dean pulled at the hem of Mel's top, lifting it above her head. His top quickly followed, and then their jeans. He laid his girlfriend on the bed, unfastening her bra at the same time. His lips touched her neck as he took the bra off, sucking and nipping, making her want him more. Her soft moans made him harder. It was so wrong to think about sex right now, but they both needed this moment together.

Melinda ran her hands through her hair as Dean's lips travelled down her body. They briefly sucked on her nipples, before they moved further down. She felt the roughness of his stumbled on her stomach, while his fingers played with the top of her panties.

"Dean..." she whispered, encouraging him on. Dean wasn't done teasing, though. He moved one finger over her slit, over the panties. His hand was quickly followed by his mouth, as he kissed her over the top of the clothing, before moving onto her thighs. Finally, he moved the panties to one side so he could reach to rub her clit gently. Melinda moaned in pleasure, and then in frustration as Dean pulled away. It didn't take him longer to pull the panties off and then delve back in.

This time his tongue licked her clit in circles, making Mel moan a little louder. One of his hands reached up to play with her breasts, while the other reached inside her, as he continued to suck, nip and lick at her clit. She was in ecstasy and made that clear through her moans.

Her release was building, and she couldn't help but wrap her legs around him as it happened. She let one leg stroke his back as she grabbed the hand that was playing with her breasts. Her mouth enveloped one of Dean's fingers, turning him on even more. He could just imagine what that mouth could be doing to his dick right now.

As he placed a third finger inside of her, her release finally came. He felt her muscles clamping around his fingers, and then pulsing around him. She whispered his name while she came, boosting Dean's ego.

Before he made his way back up her body, Dean pulled his boxers off and then kissed her all the way up. He didn't even wait before he pushed himself inside of her. Melinda didn't mind. Her legs instantly wrapped right around his hips, encouraging him to pump in and out of her.

As Dean kissed her hard, she tasted herself on his lips but it didn't bother her. She grabbed at his hair and pulled him closer to her. Her hands then moved to his shoulders, as she forced him over so she could climb on top. He was not getting control of this right now.

She leaned forwards slightly, feeling her clit rubbing up against him as she rocked back and forth. Dean's hands ran up her stomach and grabbed her breasts, but they didn't stay there for long. He soon moved them to her back to pull her forward and kiss her. That angle was perfect for her. The friction on her clit was just right.

"I'm gonna come again." Mel whispered in his ear, surprised at herself that it was happening so soon.

"Already?" Dean asked with a big grin.

Mel didn't get the chance to answer him with words. The pleasure rippled through her body, and she couldn't help but slow down her rhythm. As the pleasure subsided, Dean had the chance to roll her back over and then pull out of her. Mel frowned at first, until she realized that Dean was rolling her over. He wanted to do it from behind.

The idea turned Melinda on even more and she obliged by getting onto her knees for him. He quickly pushed back inside of her, groaning as he did it. This angle always hit just the right spots for him. She was tighter, and it always meant that he would come quickly. It wasn't that he wanted it over with quickly, but he did want her on her knees for him right now.

He grabbed her hips, pulling her back every time he would thrust inside of her. With one, two, three pumps, he spilled his seed inside of her. He couldn't help but let her name pass his lips as it happened, knowing that she'd love to hear it.

After his orgasm subsided, he pulled out and let her roll onto her back. Dean collapsed onto his own back and looked at Melinda with sleepy eyes.

Mel groaned and rolls so her head was resting on Dean's chest, "You have no idea what you do to me, cowboy."

"I have a little idea, gorgeous," he smirked and kissed her passionately, "You do it to me, too."

* * *

**Just had to throw that bit in just before we really got into the demons and the real issues at end. Hope you enjoyed!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here comes the next chapter...just 9 to go after this! Can't believe this is coming to an end so very soon...Oh and Castiel is coming so very soon...**

Chapter 10

The ringing was deafening. Why would anyone have something on so loud? What the hell was it anyway?

Melinda groaned as she heard Dean say something. The ringing had stopped. It took her a while to figure that it must have been the phone.

Making it clear that she was annoyed, Mel groaned and the rolled over away from Dean. It was cold. Why was it cold? Wait! They weren't even under the covers! They'd both pretty much passed out after their antics last night. Was it just that good or was it because of everything they'd been through that day?

"When can you get here?" Dean now asked, "What do you mean you're outside? Why would you drive over in the middle of the night?"

Mel now rolled onto her back and looked at Dean with a frown. Who the hell was he on the phone to? She glanced at the clock, groaning. It was three in the fucking morning. Why the hell would someone call at this time?

"No, we're at the Manor, Bobby."

Bobby? Bobby was calling at three in the morning? And he was here? In San Francisco here?

"Okay, I'll call everyone. See you soon."

Dean hung up the phone and rolled on his side to look at Mel. He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't impressed, but that would change soon. His mood had lightened once he realized just why Bobby was calling him so early.

"Bobby thinks he's found a way to find Lilith," he smiled, "He drove here as soon as he thought of it."

"It couldn't wait until a better time?"

"This is your niece, Mel. And he drove from Sioux Falls, not like he could really plan the time he'd get here."

Melinda knew that her boyfriend was right. It was her niece. If it was her kid, Wyatt would do everything possible to help. She owed her brother the same. It was just a shame that she wasn't one of those people who managed on just a couple of hours sleep. Not like Dean. He needed four hours and he was ready to get on with another two-day stint. How did the boy do it?

"We need to wake everyone," Dean pointed out, "We might be able to get them long before there's an issue with missing angels."

It didn't take too long to get everyone who could possibly help over. The only people Mel didn't call were Hen, Wyatt and Bianca. They didn't need to be given hope in case it was taken away from them. Mel had learned that the hard way when it was Dean that had been taken.

"_So, there is the possibility of a demon knowing a location," Riley said as soon as he shimmered in. He didn't miss the excited look of hope in Melinda's eyes as she looked up from her seat in the sun room. Melinda hated research, but she was surrounded by books and had the laptop and tablet computer open. Riley guessed that she was doing multiple searches at the same time to try and save time._

_Riley had been in the demon bar getting answers. He'd offered to take Mel, but she'd refused. It had been a week since Dean had been taken, and she'd already cut the alcohol out. Riley couldn't remember seeing her drink a drop since he'd been taken. Had the older Winchester brother really had such an impact in such a short space of time? Not that he was complaining. Deep down he worried about Mel._

"_What do you have?" Mel asked._

"_Well, he didn't tell me. I'm going to tail him tonight and see where he takes me."_

_Melinda frowned. That wasn't enough for her, but it had been more than they'd had in the whole week. This Crowley guy was good. Of course he was! He was the King of the Crossroads and held Dean's Hell contract. He had to be good._

"_I'm coming." Mel told him. It wasn't a request. Riley could tell that from the tone in her voice._

_Nodding, he shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't think anything different."_

It had turned out to be a dead end. The demon had played Riley in the demon bar to lure him into a trap. Luckily, Riley and Mel had told Wyatt what they were up to and had him as backup; followed by other cousins if they needed it. They weren't stupid! It wasn't their first rodeo.

But the hope that they would find Dean and then finding nothing was crushing for Mel. She hadn't really realized how much she wanted to find that blonde-haired Winchester until that moment.

It would be a hundred times worse for parents to have hope only to have it dashed. No, Mel wasn't going to tell them about this until they really needed to or knew that it was going to work out well. And she'd told the rest of the family the same thing. A few argued, but Phoebe, Paige and Leo backed them up. They knew what it would be like to lose a child and have that hope.

"You know, we're assuming that the girls are being kept in the San Francisco," Chris couldn't help but point out, "This demon could take them anywhere in the world."

Mel sighed, nodding her head. She knew her brother was right but they had to start somewhere. Maybe they should have started with a map of the world first. It was just natural to pull out the map of San Francisco first.

"We'll start with this and work out way out if we have to," Dean placed his hand on Mel's shoulder to support her, "I get this feeling that Lilith is trying to keep this close to home."

Mel threw him a thankful glance, before looking at Bobby. They needed to know what was next. She'd never seen a contraption like this.

A wooden tripod was placed over the map and a small gold ball hung in the middle of it. There was a range of symbols and sigils carved into the metal, making it clear that it was something supernatural. The bottom of the ball had a metal pointer, which was supposed to drop on the spot of the map. It almost felt like some old-aged scrying item, but this wasn't like her crystals. This would scry for demons as well as witches and any other magical and mythical creature. Her crystal limited her to witches, and witches only. It was a little useless compared to this, but so much easier to use.

"All you really need is this kit and a name. With the right name and right ritual, ain't nothing you can't suss out." Bobby informed the group that now surrounded the dining room table. Mel could feel Phoebe, Paige and her dad behind her. They'd never seen something like this and were intrigued at the older hunter's contraption.

"So, we'll know the town Lilith is in?" Sam now asked.

"Kid, when I get done, we'll know the street."

Bobby began the ritual and with tap of the pendulum, it started swinging over the map. He changed in Latin and everyone watched in silence. It was only when nothing happened that they could all tell they'd been holding their breaths.

"Well, she ain't in San Francisco."

"Then we try a map of the U.S." Dean shrugged his shoulders and quickly pulled one out. Once the map of San Francisco was switched with the map of the United States, Bobby tried again with the same ritual. They all watched with baited breath, waiting for the pendulum to stop. It silently came to a stop, and Bobby looked down with a smile.

"New Harmony, Indiana," he hugged, "And we have a winner."

"Alright, let's go." Mel nodded her head, but felt Dean's hands holding her back.

"Not so fast," Dean shook his head, "I've seen the aftermath of her powers. This isn't just some demon out there."

"Well, we've dealt with upper level demons in the past..." Phoebe started, but she was cut off by Leo.

"No, I've heard of Lilith. I wasn't too certain until I got confirmation from an old angel friend."

"You know angels, Dad?" Chris frowned, looking at his father waiting for the honest answer.

"They were my bosses when I was an Elder," Leo nodded his head, "The angel confirmed for me last night. This Lilith is the first ever demon. She's the one that Lucifer created as soon as he fell."

"Which is why she wants to release him?" Dean frowned at his girlfriend's dad and nodded his head, understanding the trouble that they were in.

"She's powerful," Leo sighed, "You're going to need everyone together, and that includes Wyatt, Bianca and Hen."

"You did this without even telling me?" Wyatt shouted at his family as soon as he orbed into the room. Bianca shimmered in behind him, with a matching angry look on her face. Mel, Chris, Dean and Sam simply stood there and let them take their anger out. They knew that they would feel this way. Chris had told him that they'd decided to get a location before they got anyone's hopes up about the location of their daughter.

"Were you gonna go after them without tell us?" Bianca now asked.

"No!" Melinda lied. It would have been convincing, but Wyatt knew his baby sister way too well.

"Why would you even think about doing something like that, Mel?" Wyatt shouted at her, "This is my daughter. The daughter you tried to kill and then turn evil."

"I'm sorry about that. How many times do I have to apologize for that?" Mel shouted, "Look, we didn't...I didn't want you getting your hopes up. We didn't even know if Bobby's scrying contraption thingy would work."

"It did work." Dean had full faith in his father-figure.

"And you!" Wyatt now turned his attention to Dean, "I guess you were all up for this. Doing it all behind our backs."

"Well..."

"You knew how much finding this bitch means to me. She's taken my daughter! But then why would you have any idea about how it would feel. It's not like you're a dad. You never really have to think about someone other than yourself."

"Hey, there's no need for that!" Dean shouted back, "I get that you're hurting and scared. But there's no need to pull that crap on me. I was going to stop Mel..."

"But you didn't tell me what she was up to."

"And how would you have felt with that hope being pulled away from you if it didn't work?"

"Guys, we need to stop this..." Chris started but instantly regretted it. His brother turned his attention on him now, shouting at him for not telling him about this plan. At the same time, Bianca now started her argument at her sister-in-law for not telling her, after letting her demon get vanquished before he could share more information.

"Someone else vanquished that demon. I had no choice." Melinda shouted, as Chris screamed at Wyatt.

"I didn't want to do it, but Dad said that it would be best."

While all that happened, Paige's twins, Holly and Haley, walked into the room closely followed by Hen. He was shouting at them for the same things that Wyatt and Bianca were shouting at Chris, Mel and Dean for. It was clear that tensions were extremely high.

"Hey, guys." Sam tried to get the attention of the group of people in the room. It was just like when he and Dean failed to agree on something. Now he knew how Bobby felt when he had to play the middleman. When Sam realized that he wasn't getting anywhere, he put his index finger and thumb in his mouth and blew. A shrill whistle sounded out, making everyone stop what they were doing.

They all looked in his direction.

"Jeez, Sammy!" Dean rubbed his ear, "Did you have to?"

"It was the only way to get your attention," Sam sighed, "Now I know you're angry. Wyatt, Bianca, Hen you all have a right to be..."

"But..." Mel started, but Sam held his hand up. He wasn't finished talking.

"We need to put a plan together. It won't be long until Lilith starts collecting angels. She obviously has a plan. It's a week to the next full moon, so she needs to act quick. That means we do, too."

"And this is one major bitch," Riley said, walking into the kitchen. Everyone had been hiding in the dining room while the arguments continued. Now that the shouting had died down, people started to feel comfortable joining the discussion again. Riley and Pru were the first two to walk in, closely followed by Poppy, Paige, Phoebe, Leo, Bobby and then Patience. That was everyone here now, "She's not going to be the typical say a quick spell and get out of there."

"We need to go in smart or not at all," Dean agreed with the half-demon, "We don't even know how to gank the bitch."

"There are options," Leo explained, "I can tell you all I know about the first demon. And I can call my angel contact. Maybe he'll come down to explain more. It's not common but..."

"Please, Dad," Wyatt sounded like a little helpless boy as he looked at his father. It was a side of Wyatt that the Winchesters had never seen, and Dean couldn't help raise his eyebrows, "I need her back."

"Okay, son," Leo nodded with a softness in his voice that was calming for everyone. Leo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Castiel. If you can hear me, please can you come here?"

Everyone watched and waited, holding their breaths for something to happen.

* * *

**Please R&amp;R. I'd love to know what you think.  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks gabyhyatt for the review on the last chapter. I know you wanted to see Castiel, and here he is...**

Chapter 11

A flap of wings sounded in the room as a tallish man with a mustard-colored trench coat appeared just behind Leo Wyatt, "Hello, Leo."

His voice was deep. Much deeper than anyone in the room expected. He had a stern look on his face, but that didn't bother Leo. Leo smiled at the angel and thanked him for coming.

"Anything to help," Castiel explained and looked around the group, "This is your family." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, these are Phoebe and Paige."

"It is a pleasure to meet the Charmed Ones," Castiel now smiled, nodding his head at the two older witches, "Leo told me a lot about you when he was an Elder." His focus then moved to Wyatt and Chris, "You must be Wyatt and Chris Halliwell. He gave up his wings for the two of you."

"Hi." Chris waved nervously. Nobody really knew what to do when one of the Elders' bosses was in the room. Should they offer him coffee? Did angels drink coffee?

"This is my daughter, Melinda," Leo introduced his daughter, who offered a small wave, "And her boyfriend..."

"Dean Winchester. I am glad to see that you were spared from perdition," Castiel looked at the older Winchester with a smile, "It would have been a terrible thing. I was ready to raise you with my own hands if something did happen."

"Erm, thanks," Dean said cautiously, "I think."

Leo introduced his nieces and nephew as one, along with Riley and then Sam.

"The abomination," Castiel commented, making Sam frown. Everyone else in the room was taken aback by the comment, looking between Castiel and Sam, "I am sorry. I should not have...I meant to say that what Azazel did means that you are not pure."

Before anything else could be said, Castiel got onto the task at hand. He wanted to know why he had been called down. If it had been anyone else, he would have remained in Heaven, but Leo barely called for anything. In fact, he had not spoken to Leo since he gave up his Elder wings for his family 25 or so years ago. He did want to meet the family that Leo had given up eternity for.

"Leo, you look tired," Castiel started, "You should sit down and tell me why you called for me."

"It's Lilith," Wyatt spoke before his dad had a chance, "She has my daughter..."

"And my daughters..." Hen interrupted but then let Wyatt continue.

"And Hen's daughters. We need to know how to vanquish her right now. We know where she is."

"Lilith?" Castiel questioned with a frown, "The First Demon. She is dangerous. You cannot go up against her."

"She's going to open Lucifer's cage if we don't," Dean informed the angel, wondering why he didn't know this, "All she needs is 22 angels, if she doesn't already have them."

"22 angels...of course! That is the reason for the lockdown," Castiel said and then turned to Leo, "I should not have come. We are on lockdown. 12 angels have gone missing over the last two days. They were ambushed."

"She needs them for her ritual to break the first seal." Dean continued his explanation.

"No, you were the first seal," Castiel looked back at Dean, "And you did not go to Hell, so Lucifer cannot be released."

"He can and he will if we don't stop him. The Elders already confirmed it," Dean warned the angel. He wasn't in the mood for fun and games, here, "Your little friends up there are in trouble. She already has 22 witches and she'll have 22 demons."

"The sacrifice of the 66."

"That's something like what the demon mentioned," Bianca now spoke up, "My daughter is not going to be one of those sacrifices. So, you either tell us how to vanquish this Queen Bitch, or we go in without the knowledge. Do you really want the Halliwells and Winchesters dead? Because we'll all fight to the end."

"She's right." Sam agreed with the Phoenix, waiting for Castiel's next move.

Without warning, Castiel nodded his head and then just disappeared. The flutter of the wings was all that remained to remind them that an angel had been standing before them.

Everyone look at Leo, helplessly. He shook his head at them, "He'll be conversing with the other angels. For now, I'll tell you what I know."

Unfortunately, Leo didn't know that much. He had a rough idea on how to vanquish Lilith, but there was no guarantee that it would work.

"It will take some serious power," Leo looked at his family and the Winchesters. He directed his next sentence to the Winchesters, "Holy water won't do anything to her."

"But she's a demon."

"She's the first demon, boy," Bobby warned Dean, "This is something we ain't been up against before."

"Well, what about the Colt?"

"That could work," Leo nodded, "But there's no guarantee. Same with that knife you carry around with you, Dean. But maybe with a Power of Three spell."

"We don't have the Power of Three anymore, Dad," Melinda pointed out the obvious, "With Mom gone..."

"We could have the Power of Three," Poppy pointed out and then looked at her own mom, "Tell the Elders that me and my sisters..."

"No!" Phoebe shook her head, but knew that it was a losing battle. It was time for her three girls to take over the power of the Charmed Ones.

"Mom, we need to do this," Pru sighed, "I don't want my little sisters involved either, but you know that this has to happen. If something happens to Wyatt's and Hen's girls and we could have done something, I'd never live with myself."

"Me neither." Poppy shook her head.

"Or me." Patience now admitted. As much as she'd never really embraced her wiccan side—favoring her cupid half—she did know that this was a necessity.

"Please, Aunt Phoebe." Wyatt and Hen both looked at their aunt with sorrow and pleading in their eyes.

"I think it's the only option, Phoebs," Paige sighed, "We need the Charmed Ones back and Mel's right. I don't think another half sister is going to pop up anywhere."

Phoebe smiled softly at the comment, remembering when Prue died and they thought the Charmed destiny was over then. It just meant that they were able to find their half-sister Paige.

"Okay," Phoebe nodded, "I'll discuss things with the Elders."

"It'll be the Angel of Destiny you need to talk to." Leo pointed out, and Phoebe nodded before leaving the living room and making her way up to the attic.

"C'mon girls."

Pru, Patience and Poppy—the next Charmed Ones—rushed up the stairs following their mom. The rest turned their attention back to Leo.

"So, a Power of Three spell, the Colt and the knife?" Sam asked, "That doesn't seem like enough. I think we'll need potions."

"C'mon, Mel," Chris pulled his sister into the kitchen, "That's our job."

Melinda and Chris left the room, making their way to the one thing they could do right now. They didn't know what potions they would need, but a good mixture of offensive and defensive ones would be handy.

"Wyatt will get over it once he gets Xandra back." Chris sighed as the two got to work making their potions.

"I know," Mel agreed with her own sigh, "I just...we did the right thing."

"Yes, we did," Chris agreed and watched her with a smile, "I'm proud of you, by the way."

"For what?"

Chris just laughed at her with a shake of the head. He couldn't help but be amazed at how much his little sister had grown and changed over the last six months. He was so scared that she'd end up in a ditch somewhere or killed somewhere in the Underworld. It wasn't something he mentioned much, but Dana knew the fear that he felt every single day after his mother's death. Mel was closing off from her family.

Dean Winchester came back into their lives just at the right time. It was like his Hell deal was all for a reason, and that reason was to save Mel. They both helped each other. And now Mel had turned it all around. She was the business woman Chris knew that she could be, and the witch that the whole family had seen in the past.

Melinda's cheeks went red as her brother told her why he was proud of her. They didn't have the closest relationship, even growing up they were never exactly close. Wyatt and Chris stuck together and she and Pru were just like sisters. The age gap between them all dictated that. By the time Mel reached high school, Wyatt and Chris were both in college. It was difficult to be close to them.

To top it off, Chris was the one that closed himself off most of the time. She'd learn to hide her emotions from him. He was the master at it. But that did mean that he didn't often tell her what he thought about her. The past year and a half had been the hardest, really. He'd shouted at her and tried his best to get her back on track, but she wasn't willing to listen.

"_This is getting ridiculous, Mel!" Chris cried at her as he knelt in front of her on the floor in the living room. It was just after her car crash, and her brothers had covered for her about her whereabouts. Chris wanted her to learn the hard way from her mistake, but Wyatt wouldn't have it. He wouldn't see his sister go to jail, not when she was clearly struggling after the death of her mom and boyfriend._

_Chris had given in to Wyatt's request to cover for her. Not that Melinda cared. She sat on the couch and just looked into the fire that burned. Chris hoped that the crash and writing off her car would be enough to get her to stop drinking._

_By this point she'd given up caring about anything. She was numb inside. It had been six months since her mother's death and eight months since Ben's. Nothing was bringing them back, and she was done caring about the people around her. Why care when they were just going to die anyway? When she was just going to die, anyway._

_Melinda stood with a groan. While they covered for her, they were refusing to heal the wounds that she'd caused herself. That was her lesson._

_Limping, she made her way to the kitchen and opened the fridge. A lonely beer was there. Her dad would have them in as a way to relax after a long day at the garage. The garage he and Piper had created to give him something to do with his life after giving up his wings for her. It was the garage Mel would often help out at; the place that she wanted to take over when she was older. Instead, she'd been stuck with the crappy club._

_Although, the club was good for something. Putting the beer back in the fridge, Mel decided that she was going somewhere else, but Chris was stopping her. He stood in front of her to block her way through the kitchen door._

"_You need to stop this, Mel," he pleased with her. Mel looked at the tears forming in his brown eyes and shook her head. No, she wouldn't give into his emotional blackmail, "I can't lose you, too. You nearly did tonight."_

"_No I didn't," Mel shook her head, "I walked out of that crash. I didn't need your help."_

"_Your car is on the scrapheap."_

"_I'll fix her up," Melinda shrugged her shoulders, "Now let me go."_

"_Where are you gonna go?" Chris asked her, "Back to another bar? You don't need anything else to drink, trust me. I can still smell the whiskey and whatever else you've had on your breath. You need to stop drinking, Melinda."_

_Melinda just shook her head. She'd had enough of hearing his lecture. Turning on her heels, she walked to the back door, but not before picking up a set of keys that hung on the hooks by the door. She knew exactly whose car she was taking, and didn't really care._

"_Mel, don't just walk away from me."_

"_Don't bother orbing to me. I don't want to talk to you."_

"I'm sorry for the bitch that I was back then," Mel sighed as they continued to make their potions. She hadn't realized how much she was hurting everyone at the time. They were all grieving, but she was causing them to put their grief on hold. It was selfish and horrible, "I just...there is no excuse."

"I know," Chris nodded, "I know why you drank and acted out. You'd lost your boyfriend and then mom was killed. I couldn't imagine losing Dana and mom around the same time."

Mel just nodded her head with a soft smile. She didn't need to say anything else, not with Chris.

"Wyatt and Bianca will get over you trying to kill Xandra, too," Chris broke the comfortable silence that had fallen between the two of them while they worked, "They're just worried parents, that's all."

"I know," Mel nodded, "And they have every right to be."

"Wyatt would have done it if it was the other way round. He knows that," Chris laughed, "He told me that."

"Well, at least he trusts Dean, so I still get to see my niece," Mel pointed out, "Well, I will when we get her back."

"And that we will do!" Chris grinned, throwing another ingredient into his pot for his potion. Melinda smirked and follow suit.

"You know something, we need music!" Melinda grinned and then put the radio on. It was some random dance track on the last station that had been on, but the two started dancing around having fun. They decided it was time to put the whole world falling apart around them to the back of their minds while they worked on their potions.

Dean walking in about 20 minutes later to see the two siblings still dancing around the kitchen while they worked on their potions. Both of them had two or three potions that they were working on, but neither were accidently messed up. The older Winchester couldn't help but be impressed at the way the two worked together. He'd never really seen it before.

Melinda turned on the spot and then spotted Dean at the kitchen door with a grin on his face. She suddenly stopped dancing and laughed at herself. Chris stopped dancing and looked in the direction that Mel was looking. He just smiled and gave Dean a small wave before getting back to the potions.

"I didn't peg you for the dance music fan," Dean laughed at his girlfriend, "What happened to the Mel I fell for?"

"She's still here," Mel grinned, "She just needed a bit of a break from all the crap."

"So you put on this crap?"

"It was already on the radio." Mel shrugged her shoulders.

"I happen to like this crap." Chris pointed out, and Dean couldn't help but get a dig in there about there being no accounting for taste.

"How are the potions coming?" Dean asked, now standing behind Mel while she got back to work. He was so close behind her that she could feel his breath on her neck. It was calming and relaxing. Knowing he was so close made her feel safe. She loved that feeling. She loved him.

Her eyes jumped open as she realized that. It wasn't something that she could tell him. He'd run a mile if she told him that.

She quickly got back onto making the potion, ignoring the fact that he was behind her. She needed to focus on her work and focus on saving her niece and second-cousins.

"So, did Dad say anything more about Lilith?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded his head, not even realizing that Mel was having a debate with herself in her head, "We may have a plan to get rid of her. Riley and Sam have shimmered over to recce the place."

"You've just let them go to Indiana?" Mel now turned around to looked at Dean with fear in her eyes, "What if..."

"Don't worry," Dean smiled, "They're shimmering just on the outskirts of the town and will then check to see what the place is like. Sammy isn't stupid. And neither is Riley."

Mel frowned but nodded. Pru wouldn't like to know what her boyfriend was up to. She hated it when he went to the demon bar. Going directly to the place that Lilith was hiding out was a suicide mission to her. Thinking about Pru, she then remembered that they were becoming the Charmed Ones.

"What about Pru, Pay and Poppy?"

"Haven't seen them since they went up to the attic. Paige and your dad went up to check on them. Wyatt, Hen and the twins are working on a plan with Bianca and Bobby."

Suddenly, white and blue lights filled the kitchen. There had been one person missing all night, and that person was arriving now. Dana appeared in the middle of her orbs and looked directly at Chris. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Castiel just came to see me," Dana cried, "I'd never met the angels before, but he said I had a message to give you. I had to give it but then...then..."

"What, Dana?" Chris frowned, his brown eyes full of concern, "What is it?"

"He was taken. He said the seal. It's going to be broken and Lilith nearly had all her angels. She had 21 and then..."

"He was number 22?" Dean now asked.

When Dana nodded her head, Mel and Dean rushed out of the kitchen and into the living room. They had to warn everyone.

* * *

A large ring of holy fire formed a circle in the corner of the basement. Lilith couldn't help but look at it. It always looked so beautiful. Most demons couldn't cross the flames, but a small number of them could. She was one of them. It would come in use right now.

One of her demonic minions shimmered in with the final angel. He didn't look like much with his trench coat and loose tie. But it didn't matter. She just needed one last angel, and this one would be perfect. Stepping on the holy fire, she created a small gap. The demon threw the angel into the ring with the other 21 and then stepped away. The circle appeared again.

"This is perfect." She grinned. Now all she needed to do was wait for the full moon.

* * *

**Uh oh, poor Castiel...he no sooner comes into it and he's in trouble! Please R&amp;R, I'd love to hear what you think. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey! Thanks so much for the reviews everyone. Briankrause brought up some good points that I don't know if anyone else was wondering. Lilith can cross the Holy Fire because she is the First Demon-the most powerful. She was created by Lucifer, so she had to be created in a way that would mean she'd be able to break him out of the cage later on. Also, Magic School is something I haven't included for various reasons. This is an AU (obviously to put Supernatural and Charmed together) and it means certain elements of both shows are missing/not included/adapted. Plus, I really didn't like Magic School.**

**Anyway, it's time for them to get back to researching to get Lilith...**

Chapter 12

Dean frantically flicked through the Book of Shadows. Maybe somebody had missed something; anything. They couldn't let the first seal be broken.

They all thought they'd stopped it when they saved him from Hell, but now they found out there was another one. He got why Lilith thought he would be the best option. After all, he was the easiest of the two. Believing he would spend eternity in Hell, he'd give in to torturing innocent souls eventually. It may take a few years or even decades, but he would eventually give in. He remembered the torture at Crowley's hands and his demons. Yes, he would have given in eventually.

"Sparing your soul was supposed to stop the seals being broken." A voice called out from the attic. He hadn't even realized there was someone else with him, let alone the man whose voice that belonged to. He knew it straight away.

Dean sneered and grabbed the pistol that sat in the back of his jeans. He looked deep into Crowley's brown eyes and aimed the pistol.

"Now, now, now!" Crowley put his hands up in defense, "Why don't you put that down before you hurt yourself, Squirrel? I'm here to make a deal."

"I'm done making deals," Dean smirked, keeping the pistol trained on the demon, "Especially with you."

"Well, you might want to rethink that, especially when I can help you kill Lilith."

"And why would you want to do that?"

"Did your little friends not tell you?" Crowley questioned, "Seriously, you Winchesters and Halliwells just never talk to each other, do you? No wonder you're all dropping like flies..."

That comment didn't help Dean's patience. Crowley just smirked when he saw the flash of anger in Dean's green eyes.

"Hit a nerve, did I?" he asked with an amused smirk, before sitting down on Aunt Pearl's couch—he double checked for devil's traps first, "Look, I don't want Lucifer out of his cage just as much as you. I'm willing to help, but for a price."

"Yeah, and what price would that be?" Dean asked, moving the pistol to follow Crowley while he talked, "You won't get my soul. Or my brothers. Or any of the Halliwells before you ask."

"I didn't think I would," Crowley shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't come for them. I want the Colt."

"The Colt?"

"Don't play dumb, Squirrel. It doesn't suit you," Crowley sighed, "I want the thing that can kill me in a blink of an eye. But I will let you kill Lilith with it first. After all, you'll need it. The Power of Three isn't going to be enough against the First Demon."

Dean didn't want to make a deal with Crowley, but he knew something that they didn't. Not only did he know all about Lilith, but there was something he hadn't told them yet. Dean needed to know what it was.

But he was done playing games with demons, and was certainly done making deals.

"No deal." Dean shook his head.

"Dean, Dean, Dean..." Crowley shook his head, but Dean had had enough of the talking. He pulled the trigger on the pistol, hitting Crowley in the chest. Crowley looked down and then back up at Dean with a frown, "This was my favorite suit! Guess I'll try the other Winchester...or maybe your girlfriend will be more willing to listen to what I have to say."

With a click of his fingers, Crowley was gone.

"What the hell happened?" Sam asked, rushing into the attic. He'd heard the gun shot and instantly worried. Only he and Dean used the firearms. It was the one thing that Leo had requested: that the Halliwells weren't armed. Sam had a feeling that Piper Halliwell would have had the same request. Not everyone was happy about them. But with that knowledge, Sam knew that Dean wouldn't just fire off his pistol for no reason.

Sam looked over at Aunt Pearl's couch, seeing a bullet hole through the back of it. Then he looked back at Dean, waiting for an answer. Dean put the safety back on his pistol and tucked it back into his jeans.

"Watch out for Crowley." He simply said and then walked out of the room. With Sam here, Dean needed to check on Melinda. He couldn't let anyone make a deal with that bastard.

"Mel?" Dean called out, making his way down the stairs to the downstairs hallway. When he didn't hear an answer, his body went into hunter mode. He started searching every room, with his pistol back in his hands. He knew the bullets wouldn't do anything against Crowley, but it made him feel safer, "Mel!"

He still didn't hear anything, so made his way into the kitchen. There were two places that she could be right now: in the garage or basement. Which one did he check first?

"Melinda?" He called out, hoping that she'd hear him if she was in the basement.

"Dean?" Sam asked from behind. He'd followed his brother down the stairs and into the kitchen, "What's going on?"

"Crowley," Dean said, making his way to the basement door, opening it with his foot, "Melinda! If you're down there, talk to me now!"

Growling when he didn't get a response, he walked towards the back door to get to the garage.

"Dean, what did Crowley want?" Sam stood in his brother's way, not overly worried. Of course he wouldn't be. He hadn't heard the taunting in Crowley's voice. And he didn't like Melinda the way Dean did—Dean was even tempted to say that it could be love, but he wouldn't admit it. Not right now.

"What do you think he wanted, Sam?" Dean shrugged, "A deal."

"What did you do?"

"Shot him!" Dean looked at him as if Sam was crazy. What else did his brother think he did, "But he's threatening you and Mel. Where the hell is she?"

"She went to China Town," Sam now explained, "She said they needed some ingredients for a potion. Then she said she was going to Phoebe's to see how the girls were doing with their new connection."

Dean visibly sighed and put his pistol back away. Why didn't she tell him she was going somewhere? Would it really have been that hard to come up to the attic?

"What was the deal?" Sam asked, "Does he still want your soul?"

"No," Dean shook his head, pulling a beer out of the fridge to help relax his knees, "He just wanted the Colt."

"The Colt?" Sam asked, a dangerous look in his brown eyes, "Why would he want the Colt?"

"He doesn't want us killing him," Dean replied, "He said he could help us kill Lilith."

Sam nodded slowly, taking in the information. So, Crowley could help kill Lilith, but it would mean giving up one of the items they used to kill demons for good.

"He asked for the Colt but not the knife?" Sam now questioned, waiting for Dean to respond. Once Dean nodded, Sam frowned deeply, "Why? We could kill him with the knife, too."

"I don't know. I wasn't in the asking mood."

"No, because you shoot first and ask questions later," Sam rolled his eyes, "You know we could do with some help on this one. The full moon is in two nights. We're running out of time."

"He threatened everyone I care about, Sammy," Dean warned his brother, "He tortured me for a month. I'm not going to work with a demon! We kill them!"

"We work with Riley. He's half-demon."

"He's different," Dean shook his head, "He was raised by good people. He's not evil."

"What about Ruby?"

"You worked with her, not me," Dean shook his head, "I've gotta say, Sammy, I wasn't that bothered when Mel killed her. Any more you want to bring up?"

Sam clenched his jaw with a big intake of air. There was nothing he could say to his brother, but there was something he could do. Later.

"Fine," Sam shook his head, "Do what you want. Have you found anything else in The Book?"

* * *

When Sam had the chance, he went into the basement of the Halliwell Manor. It was usually reserved for training, but everyone was out working on other things. He didn't even want to think where everyone was, especially Wyatt, Bianca and Hen. All he knew was that Dean was out and that's all that mattered.

He put all the ingredients of the summoning ritual together and lit the match. He was going to work out a deal with the King of the Crossroads. He would get the Halliwell children back.

"Well, well, well. To what do I owe the pleasure, Moose?" the British demon asked as he appeared from thin air. Sam just looked up at where the short meatsuit stood, glaring at him.

"I heard about the deal."

"Deal? You know I let your brother out of that contract," Crowley shrugged his shoulders, "You kinda had me in between a rock and a hard place. I've got to admit. I don't like that much."

"Not that deal." Sam growled. He didn't have much time. Dean wouldn't be gone for too long. He pulled the Colt out from his pocket, holding it up to show the demon, "I heard you wanted this."

Crowley raised his eyebrows with an interested expression.

"What do you want with it?"

"All the questions," Crowley rolled his eyes, "Let's just say it's insurance. That's all you really need to know."

"No, I want the truth."

Crowley chuckled at the comment. Sam should have guessed that he wouldn't get answers from him. Even if he did, could he really believe them? This demon was sneaky. There was a reason he was the King of the Crossroads.

"I'm still working on becoming the King of Hell," Crowley shrugged, "Having that will help, since I can't have a Winchester or Halliwell...yet."

The way Crowley said 'yet' made Sam feel uneasy. It was like he was planning something for the future. Of course he was. This was Crowley they were talking about. It was clear that Crowley planned a lot further in advance than most other demons. He wasn't just some cannon fodder, as he'd called all demons a few years ago.

"You know we need it to kill Lilith." Sam shook his head.

"Did Batman not tell you?" Crowley rolled his eyes, "You can use it first. You're right, you will need it. I already told him the Power of Three won't be enough. Those three witches have taken in the power, right?" when Sam didn't answer, Crowley just nodded, "I thought so. The Power of Three with the Colt will help you kill Lilith. You give me it afterwards. Now, do we have a deal?"

Sam was in two minds. Dean would be pissed if he agreed to this. What was he supposed to do, though? They needed help with getting the girls back. And now they also needed to save 22 angels.

"C'mon, Moose," Crowley broke the silence, clearly impatient, "Don't make the mistake your brother did. I can always check out that girlfriend of his. I'm sure she'll agree to a deal I'd make with her. When I back her in a corner, she won't have a choice."

Sam clenched his jaw. Now he really didn't like the tone in the demon's voice. He didn't take kindly to people threatening those close to him, and Mel had become one of "those." She was Dean's girlfriend after all, and Sam strongly suspected that Dean more than just liked the girl. He'd seen the look in the elder Winchester's eyes when they were together. And Sam suspected Mel's feelings mirrored Dean's, but they were both just too stubborn and afraid to admit it.

No, he wasn't going to let Crowley hurt a hair on Mel's head, "You've got a deal, one on condition."

"I'm all ears."

"You help us kill Lilith and get Wyatt's and Hen's daughters back to them unhurt and alive. Preferably the angels too, but the girls are the most important people here. If they end up dead then the deal is off."

Crowley seemed to think about it for a moment, but smiled, "You've got yourself a deal. Now it's time to seal it."

"You want me to sign something?" Sam asked, but Crowley just shook his head at him with a grin. Sam couldn't read the man. What the hell did he want?

"There's only one way to seal a deal, Moose."

No! Sam suddenly realized what the demon meant and shook his head.

"No way!"

"I won't use tongue. I promise."

* * *

Lilith sat at the dinner table, waiting impatiently for her dinner. Why were these pesky human parents so slow?

Finally, her "father" put a plate of food in front of her. She didn't know what it was, but it certainly wasn't what she had commanded him to bring.

"What the hell is this?" she screamed, glaring at the man, "Where's my cake? I said I wanted cake!"

"You've had enough cake." The man said. She had to give him credit. At least he was persistent. For the last two weeks he had tried to encourage her to eat something other than the cakes and sweets that she was enjoying. What was the point in being an all-powerful demon on Earth if she didn't get her own way? Why not enjoy all of life's luxuries?

The man fidgeted on the spot. Not only was he persistent but also nervous. Good. He should be. No, actually he should be very scared of her. She'd already shown what she could do when her "grandmother" had told her now. That body was lying in the middle of the hallway with flies gathering around it as a constant reminder of what she was capable of.

"Get me my cake!"

"Sweetie, don't you think you've had enough cake?" her "mother" asked from the table, in a small voice. She was the smart one. She really was terrified of the demon her daughter had become.

"If I thought that, I wouldn't want more, would I?" Lilith shouted, "You stupid woman!"

"Tessa, darling, you can have cake afterwards." Now her "grandfather" tried to coax her into eating the food that was in front of her. Now she had had enough.

"I want cake! I want cake!" she screamed, "Do I need to remind you what I can do? Look at your wife out there."

"Tessa." The old man called her again. She hated that name. It was the name of the meatsuit that she was in.

"The name is Lilith!" the young girl said before snapping her fingers. The old man's head twisted to one side sharply, his neck breaking. The body fell onto the table with a loud thump, making the girl's "mother" jump in her seat. The "father" swallowed hard, but quickly took the plate.

"You can have cake, sweetheart." He said, before busying himself in the kitchen.

Lilith now looked at her "mother" with an evil grin, "It will all be over soon, Mommy. Two more days."

"Will I get my daughter back?" The woman asked.

"Yes," the girl nodded, "If you're good, you may even get her alive." Lilith knew that once this ritual was over she would need to switch bodies. One thing she didn't need was the Winchesters and Halliwells knowing what body she was possessing all the time.

* * *

**Well, deals have been made and they're gearing up for a fight. Can they save everyone in time? Please R&amp;R!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for reading the last chapter. Here's the next and we're getting closer to the end; six chapters to go.**

Chapter 13

Dean had had enough. It was all getting to him. Crowley was threatening everyone he cared about again, and he had a world to save. Would he ever be able to just relax and stop worrying about everyone else? Would he ever get a somewhat normal life with Mel?

He knew the answer to that. It was a definite no. Not only would it mean him getting out of hunting for good—and he wasn't sure he was really ready for that yet—but it would mean Mel getting out of the witch business and she definitely wouldn't do that. All he could do was go day by day hoping that he would get a break.

He was getting tired. Actually, he'd been saying it for some time. He still remembered confessing it when he thought Sam had been infected with that Croatoan virus. Dean was so tired that he was ready to let his brother infect him and kill them both. The weight of the world was crushing him.

But of course, Sam hadn't let them stop hunting after they finally killed Azazel. All because of that damned deal. Of course, without that deal, Dean wouldn't have found himself back on the doorsteps of the Halliwells. He wouldn't have turned to Wyatt and Chris for help, and wouldn't have ended up with Melinda. Mel probably wouldn't have even been alive if all that didn't happen.

There was something good that came out of this job. But it was at a cost.

Sighing, he placed the wrench down and stepped away from his car. As usually when he was stressed or needed a break, he was fine tuning his baby in the garage at the Manor.

But he'd done everything he could. It was time to face the music again.

As he walked back into the house through the back door, he instantly smelt food. His stomach grumbled in appreciation. When was the last time he'd eaten properly? Since finding out that the girls had been taken, they'd barely stopped for anything unless they really had to. All of them had been working around the clock to find out who had taken the girls, why and how to kill the bitch.

Dean smiled when he saw Melinda at the stove. Deep down she loved cooking. He knew that, but she always wanted to be different from her mom. And she loved cars more. But she looked a natural as she worked on four pots all at the same time.

"Something smells amazing, Mel." He commented, walking behind her and looking over the shoulder and kissing her cheek. He looked down at the pots and frowned deeply, "I can't tell you what, though."

Out of the four pots, only one looked like it could have been food. The other three were purple, green and bright blue. It was clear they were potions. The Halliwell witch reached over for salt and sprinkled it in the fourth, red pot.

"It's in the oven." Mel said, waving her hand in that direction. It was as if she'd read his mind.

Dean glanced down to see the oven on and some sort of pie cooking. _Mmm, pie._ This girl definitely knew him.

"So, what's all this."

"Potions," Mel sighed, not taking her eyes off the different pots. She stirred the purple one as she sprinkled green herbs into the blue one, "Mixture of them. I need to do something, Dean."

Dean nodded his head and turned Mel around on the spot, "How about I take your mind of things for a while."

"Dean, we need to save my niece and second-cousins."

"I know," Dean nodded, "But we know there's not much we can do right now. You and Chris have made a shit load of potions, so it's time to take a break. There's nowhere to store anymore. Let me take your mind off things."

Dean started kissing her neck and ear, knowing that he needed to take his mind off everything, too. And they deserved some sort of fun together.

"Dean..." Mel moaned, almost in protest. She sighed as she grabbed his head and looked into his green eyes, "Let me finish these, okay? They'll burn."

Melinda turned around and got back to work on the potions. Dean wasn't going to let up, though. He started kissing her neck from behind, running his hands down her stomach and to in between her legs. He smirked against her neck when he heard her moan. That was just the sound he was aiming for.

He continued to rub between her legs, while she tried to continue with the potions. It was all in vain and he knew it. She'd cave soon.

To make sure she did, he moved his hand to the waistline of her jeans and then into them and her panties, rubbing her clit gently. He didn't have much room to manoeuvre but it was enough right now. It made her stop cooking and place her hands on the counter.

"Oh God, Dean!" She whispered, closing her eyes and placing her head back on his shoulder. Dean smirked and kissed her gently. One of her hands moved up to behind his head, playing with the tips of his hair at the back. He loved it when she did that. He moved his other hand to grab her breast, massaging it while he continued to work on her clit. He was now starting to harden, enjoying the moans that were coming from her mouth.

"Wanna take this upstairs yet?"

Before Mel could answer, a high-pitched shriek interrupted them. Dean quickly moved his hand out of his girlfriend's jeans and looked up. Mel blushed bright red as she looked over at the door that led to the dining room. Poppy was standing there, covering her eyes with one hand.

"Can I look yet?"

"Yes, sorry!" Mel answered, watching as the youngest Halliwell looked through her fingers to make sure it was safe.

"I so did not want to walk in on that!" she now said, looking between them. Dean chuckled nervously and whispered something in Melinda's ear. She just nodded and he walked out of the room, "This is the kitchen, Mel! You cook in here! And what if your brothers walked in?"

"Look, we just...Dean needs some stress release," Mel sighed, "Can you finish these potions for me? They just need to boil for five minutes. And the pie needs another 15 minutes and can be taken out of the oven."

Before Poppy could even answer, Mel mumbled a thanks and rushed out of the room. Poppy just threw up her hands, "Sure! You owe me!"

Melinda chuckled, hearing Poppy's shout as she rushed up the stairs and into her bedroom. She had been so close to coming when Poppy had interrupted them. And she could feel just how hard Dean was. Her comment about Dean needing some stress release wasn't entirely truthful. She needed stress release, and this was the perfect option. For 15-20 minutes they could completely forget about Crowley, Lilith, the sacrifices and the upcoming full moon. They could just be themselves and with each other the way they loved to be.

Mel stripped herself out of her top as she opened her old bedroom door. Dean was already stripped to his boxers, and she smiled hungrily. He was still hard, and clearly wanted her. He didn't even give her the chance to shut the bedroom door behind her. He strode over to her, trapping her smaller frame between him and the wooden door. His mouth caught hers in a passionate kiss.

"Where were we?" He asked with a grin, unbuttoning her jeans, pulling them down. He wasted no time before kneeling down in front of her and attacking her clit with his tongue. His hands pushed her jeans and panties further down her legs, making it possible for her to step out of them. His tongue never stopped though, and she could just grab the door behind her to steady herself.

"Dean, I need...I need to..." Mel started to say, just as Dean's hand slid up her leg and he placed two fingers inside of her, "Oh God!"

She came within seconds, biting on her hand to prevent others from hearing her. Poppy had been right. Her brothers didn't need to see her and Dean like this.

Dean grinned, standing up and unfastening her bra, "You can call me, Dean, ya'know."

Mel just shook her head and pushed him backwards, "Get them off, right now!"

Dean just raised his eyebrows, his grin growing bigger. He loved it when she took control like this. He did as he was told and then waited for her next move. Not really knowing what to expect, he was surprised when she pulled him towards her and wrapped a leg around his hips. He couldn't help but grab her thigh, rubbing it softly as they kissed again. Their kisses were hungry and animalistic. Like this was something they were both desperately needing.

With his other hand, he grabbed the thigh of her other leg, encouraging her to wrap both her legs around his waist. She complied, hoisting herself up and letting him slip straight inside of her. Dean kept one hand just underneath her and place the other on the door, thrusting in and out of her while he continued kissing her.

The sound from the rocking door was putting him off. He didn't need everyone else in the house knowing what they were up to, so he carried her over to the bed without pulling out. They laid on the bed where he could continue thrusting in and out.

Now they were here, Mel wasn't giving him a chance to stay in control. She manoeuvred so she was on top and sat up showing off her body to her boyfriend. Her hands went up into her hair, as she bit her lip in pleasure. All Dean could do was watch her ride him, rubbing her thighs and into her hips. God, she was good!

Her hands dropped to his chest as his thumb moved to her clit, rubbing it as her pace quickened. She dug her nails into him gently, as her orgasm got closer and closer. Dean could feel her muscles clenching around him, and he grinned knowing that he could give her a third if she was this close to her second.

Mel couldn't hold off any longer. She leaned forward as her body shuddered with the orgasm. It was far more intense than her first one, and she wasn't sure how much more she would be able to take. But Dean was clearly nowhere near finished. He hadn't even let the pleasure from the first one subside before he rolled them over and started thrusting in and out. It was slow and passionate, though. Enough to catch her clit in just the right places.

"Oh my God, Dean! You're gonna kill me." She said, feeling the pleasure building again already. How the hell did he know all the right buttons to press?

"As long as you're enjoying it." Was all he said as he whispered in her ear, nibbling on it. One hand reached up and played with her hair while he continued to push in and out of her. He drew out all the way before slamming back inside of her.

Dean was getting close now, though. He needed to do something to make sure she came with him. He hoisted one of her legs over his shoulder, and decided to try something different. He'd wanted to try it for a while but didn't know how Mel would take it. He was finally going to do it. He had to if she was going to get that third orgasm.

He moved a hand down and massaged her butt, looking up to see her facial expression. He then finally slid a finger inside her anus, watching her eyes as they grew wide. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something—maybe object—but she soon shut it ready to moan loudly. Dean muffled it with his own mouth as he kissed her hard.

Mel was shocked at first, but the feeling was...it was something she'd never experienced before. It felt so wrong, but so right at the same time. She was so glad Dean was there to cover her mouth, though. She wasn't going to hold that scream in. Everything was intense, and she was so close. So Goddamn close to a third...

She didn't even have time to think. Her whole body tensed as she came for a third time. Dean was still kissing her, so she couldn't say or do anything. All she could do was grip her nails into his back and draw them down. She was going to give him a reminder of just how good this was for her. He had better do this again...but they were going to talk about it first.

Dean felt Mel's muscles tense around him a third time and it pushed him over the edge. Just as she came, he did the same, pulling his finger out of her and gripping the bed. He could feel her nails running down his back, knowing that there would be scratches afterwards. But he just didn't care. That was just...amazing.

He continued to kiss Mel as he rode out their orgasms, and finally rolled off her.

"How...what...that...oh...God!" Mel couldn't even form a sentence as she got her breath back. Dean looked over at her with a chuckle.

"You're welcome."

"That...What was that?"

Dean shrugged, wondering how she was going to take it now that it was no longer causing the pleasure it had before, "I just thought I'd test the boundaries."

"Yeah?" Mel laughed at him, sitting up without taking her eyes from him, "You certainly did that."

"You saying you didn't enjoy it?" Dean asked, now sitting up, looking into her gorgeous emerald eyes.

"I didn't say that," Mel shook her head with a smirk, "Just warn me next time, huh?"

"It's not a surprise if I warn you." Dean winked as Mel stood up and grabbed a towel, "Where are you going?"

"Shower? Wanna join me?" Mel threw him a towel and then wrapped her own around her before walking out of the room. Dean just shook his head with a laugh. He just couldn't say no to that offer.

* * *

When the two of them finally made it back downstairs, Poppy just gave them a knowing look. Others had finally gotten back with whatever news they had found out, with some of them crowded around the dining table checking books and laptops.

"Pie's on the counter," Poppy grinned picking up a plate showing that she'd already had a slice, "It's real good, Mel. Although not sure how it compares to the pie you just had a bite of."

Mel stuck her tongue out at her baby cousin as she walked into the kitchen. Dean smirked, feeling his cheeks going a little red. Had she told anyone what she'd caught him doing earlier? He didn't really want to ask. He didn't think she had though, especially when she just winked at him as he followed his girlfriend.

"She's like the little sister I never wanted." Dean commented as he walked into the kitchen, smelling the delicious pie. Mel was already cutting up slices for the two of them and plated them. He definitely needed food now after that round in the bedroom. Dean couldn't help notice that the potions had also already been bottled in vials on the counter. He picked up one of the vials, checking it out.

"That will blow things up. Be careful with it," Mel warned him, not even looking up at him, "The blue one is for freezing, the green is a bit like a flash bang and the purple helps strengthen our powers temporarily. I'm hoping it will strengthen the Power of Three just to vanquish Lilith."

"Your mind is amazing." Dean commented with a proud smile, taking the plate of pie from her. He couldn't help but smile when he noticed it was a large slice. She knew him too well. In fact, she was perfect for him.

"I just have to stay busy, that's all," Mel shrugged, walking back towards the dining room, "You know that." With a wink, she walked out of room leaving Dean to imagine what she really meant by that. It didn't take much imagination, though. He chuckled to himself before joining the rest of the family.

"We need to act on the night," Sam sighed, talking to Wyatt and Chris mainly, but the rest of the family was listening, "During the ritual is when she is at her weakest. When she's using the most power."

"How did you find that out?" Riley asked from where he sat at the table with Pru, "I've been speaking to demons all day and nothing like that."

"Erm, Bobby." Sam brushed off the question, but a shudder went through Dean.

Dean knew when his little brother was lying, and this was one of those times. Bobby had no idea about Lilith, except for what they could find out about her in places like the Bible and mythology. Bobby didn't know anything about Lilith's weaknesses. He'd have to ask Sam about that later. Bobby wasn't here at the moment, so it seemed convenient to name the hunter.

"So, we let her kill the sacrifices before we kill her?" Pru tried to get her head around this plan that Sam was coming up with.

"No way!" Hen, Wyatt and Bianca all shouted out at the same time.

"My little girls are not going to be killed, Pru!"

"I didn't say that," Pru shook her head, "But if she needs to start the ritual..."

"She'll start with the demons. They have to come first because that's what Lucifer created. Then it's the angels and then it's the humans."

"Bobby knew all this?" Dean now asked, narrowing his eyes at Sam. He didn't miss the flash of guilt that passed through Sam's eyes. It was only there for a second, but definitely there. The younger Winchester brother was up to something, and Dean knew it. He just wished he knew what. What was he missing?

"Does it really matter right now?" Chris broke the silence, "We know when to start. If that means axing 22 demons then I'm all for it."

"Me too." Mel nodded her head.

"So, we start with the Power of Three spell and then you shoot her with the Colt?" Patience now asked, looking directly at Sam. He nodded his head, and watched as she frowned and slowly nodded, "Then I guess we need a Power of Three spell that will work with the Colt."

"I can handle that, Pay." Pru smiled.

"I'll help." Wyatt frowned, looking at the eldest of his six cousins. She wasn't going to argue with him.

"I've got a potion that will hopefully strengthen the Power of Three temporarily. It works on powers, but I've never tried it on spells." Mel told the group.

"Well, even if it doesn't work on the Power of Three, it will come in handy," Poppy grinned, "How many clones of myself do you think I can astral project into?"

"Poppy, you can't use your powers while in your astral form," Dana pointed out with a sigh, "I don't think you'll be able to say a spell either."

Poppy sighed, looking down at the floor. Dean nudged her taking a bite of his pie, "I'd like to know how many clones you can create of yourself. Lilith wouldn't know what hit her."

The youngest of the Halliwells looked up with a thankful smile. He certainly knew how to cheer her up, and she couldn't help but get butterflies in her stomach. He was so much cuter now than the first time she'd met him, and that photo didn't do him justice. But it was just a crush. He was dating—and likely in love—with her cousin. But her 16-year-old hormones couldn't help but take her mind back to what she'd walked into in the kitchen. Her fantasies for a while were sorted—was it wrong to fantasize about your cousin's boyfriend?

"You okay?" Dean chuckled at her, forcing her to shake out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry, was just imaging the damage I could cause the little brat."

"That's my girl."

As Wyatt and Sam handed out tasks for everyone to do to get ready for the full moon, everyone dispersed from the dining room. Sam was walking towards the sun room, but Dean wanted to talk to him right now. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

"Sammy, a word please?"

Dean motioned for Sam to follow him into the kitchen. Once he knew that his brother was following him, he walked into the garage where they could talk in private. The only person who would possibly come into here was Mel, and he didn't mind her overhearing what he had to say. But he didn't really want the others to hear it.

"What do you want, Dean?" Sam asked, "There's still a lot..."

"Where did you really hear about the bitch's weakness?" Dean cut his brother off, getting straight to the point, "It sure as hell weren't from Bobby."

"Yes it was." Sam nodded, but Dean saw that flash of guilt again.

"What the hell have you done, Sammy?"

"I...nothing, Dean."

"Sam!"

Finally, Sam looked down at the floor with a sigh. He had no choice but to tell the truth. Dean wasn't going to let this go. He had hoped it would take his brother longer to figure out that he'd done something "stupid" but Dean knew him far too long. The Halliwells hadn't picked up on his nervous twitches, but Dean knew each and every one of them.

"I summoned Crowley."

"You what!" Dean shouted, "Why the _fuck_ would you do something as stupid as that? Are you an idiot, Sam? I told you he was after the Colt. I told you he was threatening you and Mel and...why the _fuck_ would you summon him?"

"We needed him, Dean," Sam sighed, "I just got the information that we needed."

"And he just handed it up on a platter? I don't think so, Sammy," Dean shook his head, "What the hell did he want?"

"The Colt, like you said."

"Just the Colt?"

"Yes, Dean." Sam answer truthfully. That really was all the demon had wanted, surprisingly.

"Did he tell you why?"

"Just insurance," Sam shrugged his shoulder, "Look, he made a deal that he would help us kill Lilith and get the girls back safe and sound. All for the Colt. You should have listened to him..."

"I don't make deals with demons anymore Sam. I learned not to the last time. I nearly went to Hell for you."

"And I never asked you to do that!" Sam shouted back at his brother, "Never once did I ask you to sell your soul for me, but you did. That was your choice and your choice alone. Do you have any idea how guilty I felt for that? Knowing that you were going to hell to save me? But we got you out of it."

"And now you're making another Goddamn deal!" Dean shouted, running his hands through his hair, "Surely my deal would have taught you not to fucking do it, Sam! Seriously!"

"We had no other choice, Dean," Sam stuck to his guns, "We needed the information he gave, and this was the only way to get it."

"How many times do I need to tell you? There is always another way. Working with demons shouldn't be an option you take seriously."

"Look, it's done now," Sam sighed, "Can we save the girls and then you can shout at me for this?"

"You know he'll double-cross us somehow." Dean pointed out. Sam did have a point. They needed to save the girls right now. That had to be their focus, especially now that they had an idea of how to do it and knew how to find her.

"And we'll be ready when he does. Do you really think he'll be stupid enough to go up against both of us and the Halliwells?"

"If he had a plan to do it?" Dean asked, and saw that Sam was waiting for an answer, "Yeah, I do. Because he wouldn't be stupid. With enough demons behind him, even Mel, Wyatt and the rest of that family aren't indestructible. You remember what he did to Mel a few months ago? He could do that again, or worse. And he will. So excuse me for not wanting to work with him. Of course, it doesn't bother you. You're not in love with any of them!"

Sam's eyes widened, and Dean stopped in his tracks. He'd just admitted to loving Mel out loud. No, not just loving her, but being in love with her. The only time he'd admitted that was when Sam had first come back to the family business, and it was only because Sam had figured it out.

"So, you are in love with her," Sam's shocked expression turned to a grin. The younger brother was only shocked that Dean had finally said it out loud, "I knew it. Hang on, you're not running away from this."

"Don't tell her, okay?"

"You need to tell her, Dean," Sam sighed, but deep down was proud of his brother. Mel was good for him, "I'm sure she feels the same way about you."

"Yeah, well, I can't tell her that right now," Dean shook his head, "I have way too much other crap going on. And so does she. We need to save the girls and kill Crowley. Maybe then...maybe then I can tell her."

Sam didn't really want to go along with this, but he had no other choice. He'd managed to get Dean off the topic of shouting at him for making the deal. Yes, it was a stupid deal but a necessary one. And one that nobody else needed to know about. At least it wasn't that his soul was going to Hell for this deal. Deciding the best thing was to agree with his big brother, Sam nodded.

"Good," Dean nodded once and then walked past Sam to get out of the room, "By the way, I'm not done with you about this deal. But you're right. We need to save the girls first."

* * *

**It was time for some more smut. That's the last of it for now, and the rest is getting on with saving the kids and the angels...will they do it in time? PLease R&amp;R  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter. I've been super busy with work, so not had much chance to reply but I have been reading. Here's the next one. Five chapters to go...**

Chapter 14

"So we have our plan," Wyatt nodded, "This is gonna work."

"It will work, Wyatt," Pru nodded with a small smile, "We're not letting anything happen to Little Bit, or Emily and Sarah."

Wyatt just nodded with a frown. As much as he was grateful for his family getting involved, and Bobby driving all the way from Sioux Falls to help them, he hated feeling helpless. He was a dad now, and was supposed to protect his baby girl. Instead, that baby girl was somewhere in Indiana and was set up to be a sacrifice. He didn't even know if this Lilith was even looking after the five-month-old. What if she didn't feed her? Yes, Emily was there with her but the seven-year-old wouldn't be able to cope with everything.

No, Wyatt had to stop thinking about it. His daughter would be fine. They would get her tomorrow and save her. He had to believe that, otherwise there was the chance he would lose his mind completely.

"Wyatt, I'm not letting anything happen to my niece," Chris spoke up, watching his brother carefully, "This plan will work. We have the Power of Three back, the Colt, that demon-killing knife and an arsenal in the back of Dean's car. Not to mention all of Mel's potions."

Wyatt nodded his head again. They would do this.

"I suggest we all get some sleep," Dana spoke now, looking at everyone in the room, "We'll have a long day tomorrow and a tough night. Getting sleep now will be good for everyone."

Most didn't disagree with it. Wyatt went home with Bianca, Hen left to stay at his parents' home since he still couldn't face going back home after Kaley's death. It ended up with Sam left in the sun room drinking with his brother, Mel and Poppy.

"Are you sure we should be letting her drink?" Sam looked at Mel with a frown, "I'm sure Phoebe will kill us."

"What my mom doesn't know, won't hurt her." Poppy grinned at Sam, holding the beer up and then taking a mouthful.

"This isn't her first beer," Mel laughed, "I swear she started drinking younger than I did."

Dean raised his eyebrows at his girlfriend, laughing. That couldn't possibly be the case. He'd heard about Mel's escapades as a teenager—from the girl herself as well as Riley. Poppy just winked at Sam, drinking another mouthful of her beer.

"You know, Wyatt doesn't really like this plan of yours, Sam." Mel broke the silence.

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't think. I know," Mel shook her head, "I know my brother. Wyatt likes to be in control. He likes to know exactly what is going on—what everyone is doing. He hates someone else taking control and coming up with the plan. He probably hates the fact that you and Riley went to check out Lilith's hiding place and not him."

"Well, he was here..."

"There's no need to get defensive," Mel smiled, "I'm just pointing it out."

"If Wyatt tries to take over, you know why." Poppy threw in her two cents.

After their beers, Dean and Melinda had decided to call it a night. Poppy just smirked at them knowingly, before saying something about 'watching their hands'. Sam didn't even need to guess what she was talking about, but didn't understand the context of it. He didn't want to know the context of it.

"So, how does a 16 year old get into drinking beers on a night?"

"I prefer the harder stuff, but you guys had these out," Poppy smirked, "I'm the baby of the family, the rebel. Mel taught me her ways and I just perfected them."

With a wink, Poppy opened another bottle of beer and drank from it. Sam couldn't help but laugh at the half-cupid. She was one crazy girl. Actually, he could see her being perfect for Dean when he was in high school—and if he wasn't dating Melinda. Thinking about Mel and Dean...

"Hey, you're half-cupid, right?"

"Uh-huh." Poppy just nodded at him, wondering where this was going.

"So, you can sense love between two people?"

"Are you asking how Mel and Dean feel about each other?" Poppy asked with a knowing smile, "You don't need cupid powers to know how those two feel about each other."

"How did you know I was thinking about them?"

"Who else would you want to know about?" Poppy laughed, "Unless you were wondering if there was someone in this family who likes you."

"Whoa! No, no, no, no, no," Sam shook his head with a smile. He did want to know about his brother. More importantly, he wanted to know if his brother was going to get his heart broken, "So, you think they love each other?"

"Don't tell anyone I'm telling you this, okay?" Poppy decided to let him into a little secret, "Patience is useless at keeping secrets and she told me."

"It sounds like you're useless too."

"Oh no. I'm telling you because I think I can trust you with secrets and it's about your brother," the 16-year-old smirked, "Dean and Mel are madly in love with each other but refuse to tell each other. In fact, the cupid assigned to put them together is seriously fed up of their shit."

"Their shit?"

"The constant back and forth with feelings," Poppy nodded, "We don't see it. But inside, one minute they're all for moving their relationship onto the next stage and the next minute they back off from each other. Something tells me it's to do with the way they are so alike. Both have barriers and they don't want to look weak. Love is weakness...or it gives demons a weakness to exploit. Neither of them want to give evil that chance."

"You know a hell of a lot for a 16 year old."

"I'm nosy," Poppy shrugged her shoulders, "So I pay attention. And I listen when people really don't think I am."

"So, how did Patience find out this?"

"She has connections in the cupid world," Poppy explained, "She's always preferred her cupid half over her wiccan half, but we're the next set of Charmed Ones and she's had no choice but to be a witch. But she won't give up her cupid side, and she won't give up her cupid friends. She just happened to talk to the cupid in charge of putting Dean and Mel together."

"I bet they'll love to hear that a cupid has put them together." Sam said with a grin. He was learning more and more about this family and magic every day.

* * *

It was time. Time to face the music and get the girls back. They didn't have long. They didn't really know when the ritual was going to begin. Just that it had to be done on a full moon. The moon would rise soon, and it could start at any point by then.

"Everyone has someone who can teleport and all mortals have at least one person with powers with them," Sam pointed out and then turned his attention to the diagram that Riley had drawn after their return from Indiana, "Dean, Mel and Chris will be here. Riley, Wyatt and I will be over here..."

"You and I should switch, Sam." Dean looked at his brother.

"What? Why?" Sam shook his head, "I thought you'd want to be with Mel..."

"No, Dean's right," Mel shook her head, "Chris shouldn't be with me either. Riley or Sam should."

"Mel, this isn't the time for playing favorites." Chris glared at his sister.

"I'm not playing favorites," Mel shook her head, "If something happened to me, you, Wyatt and Dean...you'd all stop and you know it. Riley and Sam would keep going if there was no other choice."

Sam looked between his brother and Melinda. They'd clearly talked about this last night. They'd been on hunts together and knew each other's moves, but now they wanted to be separated and Sam understood exactly why, especially after what Poppy had told him last night.

"They're right," Bobby sighed, "This was why you agreed that Bianca and Wyatt wouldn't be in the same team."

Sam sighed. Yes, they had discussed that point earlier. He should have guessed that the same argument would be used for Dean and Mel. And now she was getting her brothers involved in this.

"Well, I've got to change all this," Sam sighed, "I just know I can't split up the Power of Three."

"Well, put Pru, Pay and Poppy with Wyatt. How about I go with Riley and you. Dean and Chris can team up with Holly, and that leaves Bianca, Hen and Haley there and then Bobby, Aunt Phoebs and Aunt Paige there."

"That works." Wyatt nodded. Let's get everyone in, make sure they're ready and get this bitch. I'm getting my daughter back.

With that, they made their way into the sun room. It was the biggest room to discuss the final plan for the ritual. Even then, the space was getting cramped, especially with the large whiteboard they had up for their plans.

"Be safe, okay?" Dean told Mel, kissing the top of her head. He knew that it was better they split up for this, but he didn't want to do it. He wanted to be there to make sure she was safe. But he knew that she was right.

"_We shouldn't be on the same team tomorrow." Mel said as soon as she shut the bedroom door._

"_What do you mean?" Dean asked with a frown._

"_I've been thinking about tomorrow. The fight. We need to be on different teams," she repeated, "It would be better for my niece and Hen's daughters."_

_Dean shook his head with a frown. This was not something he could agree on. He needed to be there to protect Melinda, make sure that she was okay. But she had a different idea. Sitting him down on the bed, she looked into his eyes._

"_If we're together and something happens to one of us, we'll stop to protect each other. You know that's true, Dean. If something happens to me, there is no way you would put Xandra, Emily and Sarah first. No way at all. And I don't think I could do it if it was the other way around."_

_Dean nodded his head, frowning deeply. She was right. If something happened to Mel, he'd get her out of there and make her stay away. Even just the slightest cut would make him stop. Hell, he'd put his own life at risk to protect her. The three girls wouldn't be full considerations for him. He started to hate himself right now. How could he possibly put his girlfriend before three innocent children? What type of person did that make him?_

_Melinda seemed to guess what he was thinking, and put her hands to his face. She forced him to look into her eyes._

"_I'd do the same, Dean, I really would," Mel admitted, "And it's because...well...I love you. I didn't want to say it, especially not right now, but it occurred to me today. I might not get a chance to tell you. If Lilith..."_

"_I love you, too." Dean blurted out before he could stop himself. His heart was racing right now. From the moment she'd said those three simple words, his heartbeat seemed to double. His mind was racing with thoughts, but the only ones that mattered were his feelings for her._

_Melinda was taken aback. She didn't expect Dean to take the admission well, let alone say it back to her._

"_No, I don't think you understand, Dean. I'm in love with you. Truly, madly, deeply to quote the song."_

"_I do understand, Mel," Dean said, his voice quiet, "I'm in love with you, too. I don't know what you've done to me, gorgeous, but I'm not complaining. For the first time I actually feel like I belong somewhere and with someone. I'm not going into my feelings because you know me..." Mel laughed at that, "And I know you. But I'm in love with you. And you're right—I wasn't going to tell you, but Lilith might kill us. So..."_

_The two of them stared at each other for a while, until Mel broke the silence, "So, we can't be on the same team tomorrow."_

"_But we can be on the same team tonight, right?"_

"Come back to me, Dean," Mel warned him, "If you don't, I'll bring your spirit back from the afterlife and kill you myself. I may even send you to Hell."

Dean grinned and kissed Melinda deeply. That was his way to telling her that he was coming back to her. And she was coming back to him. Nothing was going to stop them.

* * *

Castiel watched from the ring of holy fire. Lilith had taken over the body of a child, and was taunting the children in a cage across from them. One of the children was just an infant, and the angel had to guess that it was Wyatt Halliwell's daughter. There were two others that seemed close to this girl, and he guessed that they were Henry Mitchell Jnr.'s daughter. They were the ones that he had to make sure he got back. He had already made a promise to himself.

But right now he was stuck with 21 other angels in this ring of holy fire. The only thing that could keep angels trapped in one place.

"We need a plan," Balthazar said to him from behind, "The full moon is tonight. If this ritual is happening, this is when it is Castiel."

"I know," Castiel frowned deeply, "I know the Halliwells and Winchesters will have a plan."

"How could you possibly know that?" Gabriel now scoffed, disbelief in his eyes.

"Because their children are here. And you know how they are when it comes to family. Dean Winchester would rather sell his soul than let his brother die, and the Halliwells...Just look at the sacrifices they have all made over the years."

"I just hope you are right, Castiel," Balthazar said, glancing across at the children in the cage, "Otherwise, Lucifer will be out."

Just as they talked, Lilith turned to look at her angels.

"They won't reach me in time. The ritual is tonight and they still have no idea how to kill me."

"They will find a way." Castiel glared at the young form. He had to focus on the demon that was inside this poor innocent child. He would certainly have to if he ever came to the point of killing her himself.

Suddenly a demon ran into the basement of the house. He had taken the form of a mail man.

"They are here. Around the perimeter. All of them."

"Make sure your men are out there. They cannot disturb me until the ritual is complete."

For the first time, Castiel saw a hint of doubt in the eyes of the child. Was Lilith really that certain that the Halliwells and Winchesters wouldn't kill her?

* * *

"The neighbor over there and the milkman that looks eerily out of place are both demons." Riley told Sam and Mel. Both of them frowned at him.

"How do you know?" Sam now asked. He couldn't tell the difference but guessed the milkman was a demon. He did seem out of place at 10pm at night. But the neighbor?

"You can't see it?" Riley asked with a frown, "The face of the demon inside the guy?"

Both Sam and Mel looked back at the people and then at Riley, shaking their heads. Riley frowned and then thought carefully about it, "Huh. I guess it's my demon half. I've started to notice I can see the demonic faces and they are fugly sons of bitches."

"So, anyone else?"

Riley glanced around, using binoculars to see inside the houses. He quickly put them down and groaned, "This whole place is surrounded in them."

* * *

**Some of this will now follow No Rest for the Wicked from Supernatural but Riley is able to see the demon faces not Dean :) I'd love to hear what you think, though. Please R&amp;R  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you for the feedback on the last chapter. Here I am with another update. I can't believe how close to the end of this story I am.**

Chapter 15

"What do you mean they're all demons?" Dean asked in a hushed, angry tone on the phone. He'd stopped Chris from attacking just as his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was the best way to communicate between each other without giving away locations with orbs. Lilith didn't need to know that they were coming.

"_They're all demons, Dean," _Melinda had said on the other end of the phone, _"Everyone in this town."_

"How do you know?" Dean asked, and was shocked to hear that it turned out Riley could tell. Well, that would be useful, but why didn't he realize when he and Sam had come for a recce? That type of information would have been good to know, "Okay. Well we need a change of plan. We need a way to prevent them from following us into the house. Give me a few minutes."

Dean hung up the phone and turned to Chris and Holly, telling them everything that Mel had just said. This wasn't going to be as easy as they thought it would be at first.

His phone vibrated again. This time it was a text and it was from Bobby.

_Give us 10 minutes. Will Holy Water the sprinklers._

Dean laughed as he read it and then showed it to the two Halliwells he was with. This man was brilliant. Dean would have never thought about something like that. Now all they needed to do was get through to the house somehow.

"We could always orb straight in."

"We don't know what traps she has set up in there," Chris shook his head at his younger cousin, "She could be ready for orbing and shimmering, knowing they're our powers. The front door is the best option."

"But how do we get from here to there if everyone here is a demon?"

"Quickly, quietly and smartly." Dean answered, hitting the call button to let his girlfriend know the plan.

* * *

"Okay, so Bobby is going to set up the sprinkler system so it sprays holy water," Wyatt informed his three Charmed cousins, "We'll be able to get in and any demons that follow us will be trapped outside."

"How long with that give us?" Pru asked, nervous at the situation.

"Long enough, hopefully," Wyatt shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't really sure and he didn't really care. He just wanted his daughter back. No. He needed his daughter back. If something happened to her, he didn't know what he'd do. Now he understood why Phoebe had been so against Poppy taking up her duty as a Charmed One so young. Wyatt wouldn't have let her if she was his daughter.

Suddenly a head popped up from behind a bush. Only Patience saw it through her binoculars.

"It's Hen," she said to the others and watched what Hen was doing. He was taking matters into his own hands, "Oh no!"

"What is it?" Wyatt asked, grabbing the binoculars from his cousin. He looked through them to see Hen starting to rush out into the open. All the demons turned their attention to him and started chasing after him. Suddenly Bianca shot up with two athames in her hands. She threw them at the two demons, forcing them to drop to their knees. That gave Hen a chance to pull out a potion and throw it at the two demons. They exploded instantly.

Other demons were running towards them, and Bianca jumped out of the bushes. She spun around and kicked the first one, just as a second tackled her to the ground. They didn't stay that way for long, and Wyatt had a proud smile as he watched his wife smile. She still had it.

Haley had remained hidden in the bushes. Wyatt wasn't even sure if she was still with them. She wasn't exactly happy about the plan, being a whitelighter at heart. But she would do anything for her nieces. It made sense for her to stay hidden though. She could heal if they needed that type of help. Right now, Hen and Bianca were acting as the perfect distractions.

"It's Sam!" Poppy now whispered. They didn't need the binoculars as they saw Sam running to the house, Riley and Mel not that far behind him. Dean, Chris and Holly came in from another direction.

"That's our cue." Wyatt told the girls to run towards the house.

* * *

As Wyatt and the Charmed Ones were running towards the house, Sam knelt down at the door and pulled out his lock picking kit to get in.

"C'mon Bobby." Dean said under his breath just watching as the demons were now all running towards them. They were chasing Wyatt, Pru, Patience and Poppy, catching up to the middle Charmed Ones quickly.

"Damn it." Riley cursed and shimmered out. He shimmered in behind Patience, grabbed her and then shimmered them in next to Dean.

"You can't run for shit." Dean shook his head with a laugh just as the sprinklers turned on. Wyatt, Pru and Poppy ran through the water and caught up with them just as the door to the front door opened. Dean couldn't help but stick two fingers up at the demons as they realized they couldn't cross the holy water sprinkler system. It really was perfect. They were protected.

At least for now.

The laughter came to an end when he got into the house and almost tripped over the dead body. He looked down and held his hand over his mouth and nose. The body was surrounded with fruit flies, and had clearly been there for a few days. Dean couldn't help guess that this was the grandmother of the girl Lilith had possessed. The poor girl was going to find out what she had done if they managed to save her.

One thing that Mel had asked was that the girl wasn't killed if possible. But Dean couldn't promise. He just said he'd try.

Dean put his game face back on and looked at the group of people now in the house. Maybe too many of them were here, but they couldn't stay outside. It was too dangerous.

"You think Lilith knows we're here?" Sam asked, looking over at his brother. Dean couldn't help but shrug.

"Probably," Bianca answered, stalking through the house, "I would if I was an assassin and setting up a trap for you."

The men in the group and Bianca took up protective positions around the women. It wasn't that they thought the girls weren't good enough, but they did need to protect the Power of Three. Dean, Sam and Wyatt were also just used to protecting those around them, even now.

Mel had managed to get to the back of the group, though. She could protect her cousins from there without feeling like the men were taking over. She was ready for anyone to attack from behind.

It was a good job she was there, too. Hearing a low creak, she felt the presence of someone behind her. As she turned, she pushed a man into a wall and placed a hand over his mouth. This wasn't a demon. Something deep down told her that. Riley rushed over to Mel.

"It's okay, we're here to help." Riley said, now as the group stopped and waited to see what the commotion was. It definitely wasn't a demon, and Mel now felt safe enough to remove her hand.

"Okay, I'm gonna move my hand, and we're gonna talk nice and quiet, okay?"

The man nodded and Mel slowly removed her hand. She and Riley had already guessed that this was the little girl's dad.

"Where's your daughter?" Riley asked with a frown.

"It's not...it's not her anymore." The man shook his head, and Melinda's heart broke. It was horrible for this man. His little girl had been taken over.

"Where is she?" Mel asked, wishing that she could figure a way around this to save the girl. She'd asked Dean to promise but he wouldn't. They knew deep down that the poor innocent girl was going to have to die.

"She's in the basement."

"Okay, okay, okay," Dean now spoke in a whisper, walking up to the man. They needed to get going with this plan if they wanted to save the girls, "I want you to go upstairs. Pick a room, any room, and put a line of salt at the door behind you. Do you understand me?"

"My wife."

"Where is she?" Riley asked.

"Upstairs."

"Go to her." Dean pushed the man up the stairs and then turned to the group. He leads them through the house and to the door that he assumes is the basement. There weren't that many to choose between.

Wyatt and Hen pushed Dean out of the way as they got to the door.

"Wyatt..." Dean glared.

"These are our daughters." Wyatt said before opening the door and slowly walking down the stairs. Hen gave Dean a dangerous look before following. There was nothing that Dean could do or say. He knew that Wyatt was right. If it was his daughter, he'd do the same.

Sighing, Dean looked at Bianca and motioned for her to go before him. She didn't need asking twice. But Dean wasn't going to let anyone else in before him. He had the Colt and would make sure he got the bullet off right into Lilith's head. Between him and Sam, he was the one who was more likely to have the guts to kill an innocent little girl—he just had to remember that this wasn't an innocent little girl.

Just as he was about to walk down the stairs, there was a howl. Dean and Sam took a guess at the sound, remembering their time protecting people who had sold their souls. They looked at each other, fear in their eyes.

"Hellhounds." Sam clenched his jaws.

"Hellhounds?" Chris asked. He'd never heard of them.

"Get in the basement, now." Dean commanded everyone. Between hellhounds and Lilith, he was taking his chances with the demon. He'd seen what hellhounds could do, and had been starting with nightmares of them before the Halliwells saved him from his Hell deal months ago. Luckily, he had something that would help right now.

Pru, Patience and Poppy got past him and into the basement, along with Sam. Mel, Riley, Holly and Haley were just about to get there when Holly suddenly screamed. She was dragged back by an unseen force. She rolled on her back, just as something sliced into her.

"Holly!" Haley screamed.

"NO!" Dean shouted out, knowing that the hellhound was attempting to claim its next victim. He would not let any of this family go to Hell.

* * *

**Uh oh! I know in Supernatural season three only Dean could hear the hellhounds, but in season five they could all hear them and I think that was because they were purposely sent to attack Dean, Sam, Jo and Ellen. Well, I've used that for this now just to clear up any confusion.  
**

**I'd love to hear your thoughts on how this chapter turned out. It's coming up for a lot of cliffhanger endings now to each chapter just to warn you.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi! It has been a very busy couple of days for me. I've not had the chance to sit down at times (or sleep properly some nights) but I'm back now and posting an update. I hope you enjoy this one...It's all coming to the climax now.**

Chapter 16

Before Dean could do anything, Mel held her hands out. Electricity flew out and hit the space just above Holly. There was a yelp from a dog and Holly was able to roll on her side in pain.

"Haley, get her out of here." Riley told the younger twin. Haley didn't need any convincing. She rushed to her sister and orbed out with her. There was a growl coming from behind the orbs and Riley threw an energy ball in that direction. It connected with something, blood splattering from the invisible force.

"You guys go. I can hold them off."

"What? No!" Dean shook his head.

"I can see them!" Riley shouted, "Now go!"

Melinda looked at Riley and then at Dean. She shook her head and kissed Dean gently, "Go save my niece."

"No!" Dean knew exactly what she was doing, but it was suicide. When Dean refused to leave, Mel kissed him again. He closed his eyes, refusing to let her go. Suddenly, he felt himself stumbling backwards and tumble down the stairs. When he came to a stop, he could just watch as Mel closed the basement door.

Melinda knew the only way to get him to leave her was to push him down the stairs. She then grabbed Riley's hand and rushing down the hallway.

"If you want someone, take us you mutts!" Riley shouted out.

* * *

"How nice of you all to join me!" Dean groaned as he heard a young girl giggle. He rolled onto his back and looked up at the girl—Lilith.

Dean hadn't noticed the red glow coming from the basement until now, almost as if it was on fire. There was a ring of fire—not spreading—holding a group of men and women. Dean just guessed that they were angels, and this was some sort of angel version of a devil's trap or goofer dust. Castiel was standing at the front, watching the whole scene, making Dean realize that it was definitely the 22 angels that Lilith needed. At least they were alive.

Opposite the angels were a row of cages. They were fairly large, made with iron. Each of them have a few children crammed into them, all looking scared, dirty and tired. Dean could just about make out Hen's eldest daughter, Emily, in the cage and she was holding a baby. Dean just had to hope that that was Little Bit and she was okay.

Thinking of Little Bit, Dean now looked for Wyatt, Hen and Bianca. That was what everyone was looking at. Bianca was forced up against one of the walls of the basements, held telekinetically in place by a demon.

Wyatt and Chris were on the floor by her feet, unconscious; at least Dean hoped that was all it was. Hen was held in place by a demon with a knife to his throat.

Scratching on the other side of the basement door reminded him of the dire state they were in right now. They had to get the girls out and escape from this. And they needed to kill Lilith at the same time.

"I wasn't expecting all of you to come here. A bit silly, don't you think?"

Pru, Patience and Poppy stood together close to Dean, with Sam just behind them.

"It's not all of us, you bitch." Dean groaned, starting to pull himself to his feet. He didn't get a chance though, as he felt someone kick him in the stomach. He groaned as he rolled.

"You're not going anywhere, silly goose." Lilith warned him, just as he felt himself being pulled up telekinetically. Lilith was doing it all. She had her hand held out with a sadistic grin on her face. The young girl walked over to him and then forced him down to his knees so she could look into her brown eyes. At least he was going to watch the First Demon kill him.

Before she killed him, though, she reached into the pocket of his jacket. She pulled out the Colt with a smirk.

"You won't be needing this anymore."

She stepped back and then wave her hand. Dean flew through the air, hitting a wall hard. That was all he remembered before blacking out.

* * *

Mel and Riley ran through the house, cautious to stay away from the upstairs. They couldn't send the hellhounds to the parents of the little girl.

"We need to split up," Mel said, "You go..."

"No, you can't see them." Riley warned, the sound of the dogs getting closer. They were ugly creatures. Large, black, scary dogs, covered in scars. They had clearly been risen from the dark pits of Hell. Riley couldn't help but wonder how dogs even became hellhounds.

There were four of them, all stood at the doorway to the kitchen. There were two options for them right now; back into the living room or out the back door. The back door would lead them to all the demons.

"Let me shimmer you out of here, somewhere safe." Riley said to her, about to put his hand on her.

"You are not facing them yourself and I am not leaving Dean and Wyatt!" Melinda warned, holding out her hand as she felt the presence of a dog charging towards them. Riley threw an energy ball just as electricity shot from her hands. They both hit the hellhound.

Riley watched the three other hellhounds turn their attention to their fallen comrade and then back at the enemy. There was an evil glint in their red eyes. That really pissed them off.

"We keep running in a circle then." Riley refused to let them split up and grabbed Mel. They ran towards the living room, knowing that the hellhounds were on their tails. Suddenly one of the hellhounds pounced. Riley saw it too late as it jumped onto Mel's back, ripping its claws into her shoulder blade and back. Mel screamed as she fell to the floor, blood spilling everywhere.

"No! Mel!" Riley shouted out, throwing an energy ball at the hellhound. He had no choice now. He grabbed Mel with both hands and shimmered out with her.

* * *

Meanwhile in the basement, Pru was trying to figure out a plan. Lilith now had the colt, and they needed that. Crowley had said the Power of Three wouldn't be enough, and for some reason she trusted that statement. After all, this was the First Demon they were facing.

"Now," Lilith giggled, placing the Colt down on the altar set up in the middle of the basement, "I will get on with this ritual. We will open the 66 seals and you can meet my master and creator. I know he really wants to meet all of you."

The demons that surrounded the room joined Lilith in the center by the altar. They were clearly the demonic sacrifices that she would need. Pru knew that once they were gone, they stood a better chance. They wouldn't be outnumbered. Besides, they had to wait for the ritual to start anyway. Sam had said Crowley said this was when she was at her weakness.

While Lilith started the ritual, Pru moved her potion to stand in between her sisters. She held their hands and squeezed. She didn't take her eyes of Lilith, but made sure her sisters know that she was here and was working on a plan.

Poppy glanced over at Pru, just as Sam stepped behind her.

"Do you think you can astral project to get the Colt?" He asked her in a whisper. With Bianca trapped and Hen with a knife to the throat and Dean and Wyatt knocked out cold, it was going to be up to the three of them. Sam didn't even want to question where the twins, Mel and Riley were. He had a feeling that they were leading the hellhounds away. He hadn't missed the look of sadness in Mel's eyes when she shut that basement door after Dean tumbled down the stairs.

Poppy nodded her head. She could do that. But it wouldn't be easy. She needed to get her placement perfect.

"As soon as the demons are sacrificed do it."

"Then what?" Poppy asked.

"Can you freeze her?" Sam now turned to Pru, who shook her head. She'd already tried when they first got into the basement. This bitch was strong. Stronger than she'd ever faced before.

"I can shoot her." Poppy shrugged her shoulders.

"NO!" Patience glared at Poppy, "You can't..."

A groan from the far side of the room caught their attention. Dean was stirring awake. That could be helpful. It was too far for her to get the Colt back to Sam and he wouldn't let her have the displeasure of killing a little girl. That would be something either he or Dean would handle.

"Get it to Dean."

Poppy nodded her head and they waited.

"Just be ready to say the spell."

Dean groaned again, blinking his eyes open. It was all a blur around him, but something was happening. Lilith had decided against bothering with him anymore. She'd gone off to do the ritual, and demons were crowding round her. They were going to be willing sacrifices to help unlock this first seal.

He couldn't let that happen.

As he pulled himself to his knees, he glanced across the basement. Pru, Patience and Poppy stood by the stairs still. Sam was behind them, looking over at him and saying something to Poppy. She nodded and then he looked over at Dean.

The older Winchester frowned. He could tell his brother was trying to say something to him, but couldn't make it out. The ringing in his eyes and black spots in his vision were throwing him off.

_The Colt?_ That's what it looked like, but Dean had lost the Colt. She'd taken it.

_Poppy._

Poppy and the Colt? What the...

Dean didn't have a chance to question it. Suddenly all the demons started shouting out in pain and each one burst into flames. They disappeared and Lilith looked around with an evil grin on her face. Suddenly, a second Poppy appeared right by the altar and grabbed the Colt from it.

"Dean!" She called out, throwing the Colt at him and disappearing. Dean caught it and now realized exactly what Sam was trying to tell him to do.

"Hey bitch!" Dean called out, aiming the Colt at the First Demon, "Eat this."

He didn't think twice and just pulled the trigger, hitting the demon in the chest. Lilith looked down at the bullet with a frown and then at Dean.

"Did you really think that would kill me?"

"No," Dean shook his head, "But this will."

"_Prudence, Patricia, Penelope, Melinda,_

_Astrid, Helena, Laura and Grace._

_Halliwell women stand strong beside us,_

_Help us vanquish the demon in this space._

_Use the power from the Colt,_

_Take the First Demon away from here._

_Save these innocents and prevent the seal_

_From breaking here with the Power of Three."_

"No!" Lilith screamed as flames surrounded around her feet, "No! No! NO! NOOOO!"

The flames moved upwards, engulfing the young girl. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she burst in a flash of bright white light. Nobody had a choice but to shield their eyes from the white light. A high-pitched screech surrounded the room, as the Earth shattered.

And as quickly as it started, it stopped. Everything returned back to normal.

Bianca dropped to the floor with a thump, as Hen rushed to the cages.

"Emily. Sarah."

"Daddy!" Sarah smiled through her tears.

"Wyatt!" Bianca rushed to her husband, as Pru joined her. Poppy and Patience looked for a way to get the children out of the cage and the angels out of the ring of fire, while Dean looked upstairs.

"Mel!" Dean started to rush to the door, but Sam stopped him.

"Dean..."

"Don't stop me Sammy!" Dean warned his brother and rushed up the stairs of the basement. He flung the basement door open and shouted out for his girlfriend.

It was eerily silent. Too silent. There weren't even hellhounds. Mel and Riley definitely weren't here anymore.

"Dean, we have to get out of here." Sam shouted up to him, just as a flap of wings sounded in front of him. Dean turned to the sound of the wings, almost bumping into Castiel.

"What the hell?" Dean shouted, "Have you angels never heard of personal space?"

"You need to go home, Dean," Castiel told him without any hint of emotion in his eyes, "Melinda needs you right now."

Castiel placed two fingers on Dean's head, and before Dean knew it he was at the Halliwell Manor. He looked around.

"Mel?"

"Dean!" Dana rushed over to him from the stairs, tears in her eyes. She was shaking her head.

"Where's Mel?" Dean asked, his whole body was shaking. What the hell had happened after Mel had pushed him down the stairs?

"I'm sorry. I couldn't...I can't..." Dana couldn't finish the sentence.

Dean pushed past the whitelighter and rushed up the stairs. The adrenaline kept him going. He couldn't break down right now, but he was scared. Something had happened and he knew deep down that he was about to lose his girlfriend.

"Melinda!" Dean screamed as he reached the top of the stairs. Riley stepped out of her old bedroom, a scared look on his face. Dean rushed over to his friend and then looked into the bedroom. His face paled as soon as he saw the sight.

Melinda was laid on the bed, deep claw marks in her back and right shoulder blade. Her eyes were closed, with sweat glistening her forehead.

"No, Mel!" He knew she shouldn't have stayed upstairs. She should have come to the basement with him. Lilith was a better option compared to hellhounds, "I'm so sorry, Mel."

He grabbed her hand. It was sweaty but it did grip his hand back.

"Dean?" She asked weakly, opening her eyes slowly, "I'm sorry. I..."

"Hold on. Dana can heal you. Why hasn't she healed you yet?" So many thoughts were running through his head. Dana was a whitelighter. She could heal these wounds and save Melinda. His girlfriend wasn't dead yet.

"She can't..." Melinda said weakly, "She can't heal hellhound...I love you."

Before Dean could say anything back, Melinda closed her eyes. Her whole body went weak, as she stopped breathing.

"No!" Dean shook his head, getting on the bed and rolling Melinda so he could hug her. He put his hand to her back, feeling the warm, sticky blood. Moving his hand, he started brushing it through her hair, getting the blood in it as he cried, "No, no, no, no, no, Mel. C'mon baby. You need to wake up. We'll heal you and..."

"Dean?" Sam's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Sam stood there with Riley by his side. Riley was crying as he watched the scene before him. Sam had wide, heartbroken eyes. Dean couldn't look at them. He didn't want to see the sadness and pity in their eyes.

His girlfriend was dead.

* * *

**Lilith is officially gone! Yay for Dean and the new Charmed Ones...but oh no Mel, right? I'd love to hear what you think of this...it was a big twist that I didn't see coming until the story was developing. In fact, I have lots of versions of the ending for this written, and this was the one that really settled for me to continue the universe. So, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you again for the support in this story. I can't believe it's so close to the end. We're back with Dean and the Halliwells.**

Chapter 17

"Now is not the time for this." Sam glared at the short demon, who had just appeared unannounced.

"You killed Lilith didn't you, Moose?" Crowley asked, "This is the perfect time for this. Now hand it over."

"I want to renegotiate the deal." Sam decided to try and help his brother out, knowing how much Dean was hurting.

"Oh the Halliwell witch," Crowley nodded, "Yeah, no deal. I've got my Halliwell right where I want her. Even if you offered your soul, I wouldn't take it. Or Dean. A Halliwell is worth a lot more down there. Now, hold up your end of the bargain. I fulfilled mine by giving you the way to defeat Lilith."

Sam glared at the demon. He didn't want to back down, but there wasn't an option. The King of the Crossroads was not going to let Melinda escape from Hell.

With a heavy sigh, he held out the Colt. Crowley would find a way to take it anyway. At least they still had the demon-killing knife.

"Nice doing business with you." Crowley spoke with a grin before disappearing. Now it was up to Sam to admit to his brother that he couldn't help.

* * *

Dean just glared at the '66 Ford Mustang. It was wrong. She'd been wronged.

Melinda had survived a car crash and a year of drinking herself into a grave. She'd rebuilt her car—with Dean's help—and turned her life around. All that just to die?

And die at the paws of hellhounds?

Dean knew what that meant. The hellhounds would take her to Hell. She was in the one place she'd saved him from just months earlier.

He continued to stare at the car. He shouldn't have agreed to come and see the Halliwells. If he didn't, then none of this would have happened. Crowley wouldn't have tried to turn her evil and Lilith wouldn't have needed this seal to start the release of Lucifer. Dean would have been that first seal.

It wouldn't have mattered. He'd have been stuck in Hell as Lucifer walked free. But at least there was a chance Melinda would have been alive. If not, she at least wouldn't have ended up in Hell. He closed his eyes, before taking a mouthful of the bottle of whiskey in his hands. It was the one she'd hidden in the garage months ago. Everything around here was hers or reminded him of her.

Placing the whiskey on the workbench, he looked at the tools. They were hers. The ones that they'd used to fix up her Mustang. The ones that they'd really bonded over. Dean wanted to believe it was the alcohol all this time, but it had been the sober moments with the car that had made him fall in love with the Halliwell witch.

It was only when Mel's body finally went cold that he agreed to leave. Of course, he then found out that she wasn't the only one to die. Holly had been killed at the hands of the hellhound that caught her. He'd forgotten all about the eldest twin daughter of Paige. He was so focused on the love of his life.

Now that Mel was gone, it was like a piece of him was gone, too. He'd spent weeks trying to keep her safe while on hunts, but it was all in vain. She was dead now. Dead and never coming back.

"Argh!" Dean screamed, pushing all the tools onto the floor. He picked up a crowbar and slammed it into the hood of Mel's Mustang. It wasn't like she was going to need it anymore. He continued to smash it, realizing that he was angry at her, too. She'd pushed him out of the way and made sure the hellhounds followed her.

"Dean!" Riley shouted, rushing over to him and stopping him from taking the anger out of the car, "Dean, stop this!"

Dean glared at the demon, throwing the crowbar on the floor, "It was your fault!"

"Yeah, it was!" Riley shouted, "I should have protected her."

"Yeah, you shoulda." Dean punched Riley in the face. The half-demon didn't fight back, making Dean punch him again. He still didn't fight. Dean continued to punch him until someone rushed in and pulled him back.

"Dean, calm down. Calm down!" It was Sam.

Dean looked down at Riley, anger still in his green eyes, "You shouldn't have let her go off like that."

"I know," Riley nodded, "I know."

"You should've...should've..." Dean didn't know what Riley could have done. What could anyone have done? And even then it wasn't going to bring Mel back.

Sam had pulled his brother back, hoping to at least talk Dean down from trying to kill his half-demon friend. He knew that Dean was struggling with this loss, but what happened next wasn't something he expected.

Suddenly, Dean collapsed to his knees and cried. He'd never seen his brother like this. Even when their dad had died, Dean hadn't done this. Sam knew about the burst of anger on the Impala that day after the fun fair case, but he'd never heard or seen Dean cry like this. It hit him just how much Mel really did mean to him; just how deep their love went.

"Dean?" Poppy said in a small voice, looking between the three men, "Sam, Riley? Castiel wants to see us. All of us."

"Tell him to fuck himself," Dean shook his head, looking up at her, "I'm done."

"It's important, Dean," Poppy cried, "Please?"

"No. You guys can talk to him but I'm done. I want nothing to do with this anymore."

Sam convinced Riley and Poppy to leave the garage and talk to Castiel. It left Dean alone again. He was able to go back to his miserable existence.

He started going through all his options. Of course, a deal to bring Mel back was the first on his list, but why would Crowley make a deal with him? He had what he wanted—a Halliwell in hell. That was his best hope, unless the angels could do something.

Dean's head quickly shot up. That's what he'd do. He'd talk to the angels. And there was one in the house right now.

"We are all extremely grateful," Castiel spoke to the group, "We are very sorry for your loss..."

"Our loss?" Wyatt shouted, "My sister has died, and you're sorry. She died while we tried to protect your ass. That first seal would have broken if she didn't...if she didn't lead those damned hellhounds away from us."

"We know, and that is why..."

"Bring her back, you bastard," Dean shouted, walking straight into the sun room, "Bring her and Holly back. Right now. Or I swear to God..."

"What could you do, Dean?" Castiel asked with a frown, "I am an Angel of the Lord, you cannot..."

"I will find a way to kill you, you bastard," Dean growled, "You and all the other fucking angels up there. I'll go to Hell and break that first seal to release Lucifer..."

"Thankfully, with the First Demon gone that cannot happen anymore." Castiel explained.

"Oh, I'll find a way to do it. Even if it means bringing Lilith back from the dead."

"You do not threaten an Angel of the Lord." Castiel said, his voice deep and forceful, but Dean wasn't backing down. He squared up to Castiel, looking deep into his blue eyes. The rest of the people in the room could just watch as the two went head to head. Human vs. angel, and everyone started to wonder whether Dean had it in him to hurt the angel. They started to wonder whether the human was going to be the one to win.

"I'll threaten whoever the hell I want," Dean warned, "Now our families have sacrificed enough for your cause. They don't need this one. Not when it was your damned asses that were on the line. Now, bring them back. Bring them back right now. Give me Melinda back. I need her back." Dean's voice was cracking by the end of it, as tears threatened to fall down his cheeks again. He just wanted her back; needed her back in his life.

"We are sorry." Castiel said, a hint of sadness in his eyes before disappearing.

Dean shook his head in frustration. Bobby stepped forward to try and say something but Dean brushed him off and ran up the stairs. He needed to see Melinda again. He needed to let her know that he would do everything to save her.

Once he was upstairs, he locked the bedroom door. It wouldn't keep out those who could orb, but it would keep out the ones that were more likely to disturb him. Melinda hadn't been moved, except for rolled onto her back. She looked peaceful. It was as if she was just sleeping, but Dean knew that she was dead. Not just dead. She was in Hell. A place she didn't deserve to be.

"I'm so sorry, Mel," Dean said, sitting on the bed next to her. He needed to feel her, needed to be near her. He wasn't ready to give up on her yet. Laying down, he pulled her lifeless body onto him. He missed the warmth her body usually gave him. Now she was cold and stiff. Rigormortis had set in, "I'm so sorry for all this. I, erm, destroyed your car. I'll fix her up, though, for you. I promise."

And he would do that. He owed her this after he'd failed at protecting her. Dean laughed at himself humorlessly.

"You always told me you didn't need protecting, and you said that we should be on separate teams. You were right. You died because you were too busy protecting me and your niece. This shouldn't have happened. None of this, you didn't deserve this. You deserved to life a full life, have kids...God, I'd do anything to let you have all that.

"You know, I actually think I'd have wanted to do all that with you. I guess you only know what you miss when it's gone, huh? But I could see us. The two of us and a couple of brats running around. Hell, I think I'd be happy giving up hunting. Only saving people and killing demons when they come to us. Anything to be with you, Mel."

Dean looked down at the body. If it wasn't for her being so cold, he'd believe she was just sleeping. But he knew that wasn't the case. And now he had to go on without her. Without giving up his soul and without finding a way to bring her back. Could he really do that?

* * *

**Sorry, I know that it's getting to some sad points. Mel is definitely dead and for now she isn't coming back. That doesn't mean it's all over but the next chapter will be the funeral and the final part for Dean and the Halliwells for now. Please R&amp;R.  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**Wow! This is the last chapter with Dean in it. The next chapter is going to be an epilogue with Mel to really show what's happened to her after death. It's setting up the scene for the next story. Before I share that, though, I'm going to include a short update of the time leading up to the next story. I wasn't going to, but I got the idea for it over the weekend and really just ran with it.**

**Anyway, thank you for the support in this story. Here's the chapter...**

Chapter 18

There had to be a way. There just had to be. Wyatt was not going to let his little sister just die. She'd lost her life to help save Xandra. He wasn't going to let her end up six feet under—or worse, salted and burned the way Sam had wanted. Dean, on the other hand, couldn't do it. He knew he should but he couldn't give her a hunter's burial. He wanted her to have a proper grave and be buried like the rest of her family.

Chris had seemed to give up. He was downstairs working on funeral arrangements with Leo, but Wyatt had refused. There just had to be a way to bring her back. He needed to bring her back.

Dana had broken the news about hellhounds and what that meant for those who died at the hands of them. They were the dogs that dragged people to Hell. Mel—and his cousin, Holly—were both now in Hell. They were undergoing God knew what torture while down there.

A week. That's how long they'd been down there for now. Wyatt wouldn't let it be any longer.

"Anything?" Dean asked, walking into the attic putting a bag on the floor.

"I wish I could say yes," Wyatt sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Dean hadn't given up either, but he had drawn the line at him—or anyone else—selling their soul for Mel and Holly. They all knew that neither of them would want that to happen. Mel especially would end up getting the demon to reverse the deal and go back to Hell before anyone went for her. Not like any Crossroad Demon would take the deal. Why would Crowley allow it when he had what he wanted; a Halliwell in Hell? "What about you?"

"Well, I haven't had time to look through them all, but the books look promising," Dean nodded, "I know you said that about the ones that you had but..."

"Let's look." Wyatt nodded, walking around the podium. The Book of Shadows updated on its own every now and then, and Wyatt couldn't help but check it for some type of information to help. But it didn't have anything today. Maybe tomorrow.

Dean pulled the small table usually used for spells across to Aunt Pearl's couch, as Wyatt pulled out the new books. Dean had gone all the way to Chinatown to a specialist book shop to see if there was anything. He just hoped there was. If not, he was going to have to get a little more creative.

The two friends looked through each of the books. There was plenty about the mythology of hellhounds, but nothing to tell them how to bring someone back from Hell. To be honest, both the boys had no idea what they were really looking for. Just something that would help them save Mel and Holly.

Suddenly orbs filled the room and Hen appeared dragging a demon. He flung her in the permanently painted devil's trap, and glared. Wyatt and Dean couldn't help but get up and glare at her. The demon's eyes glowed red, telling them that she was a Crossroads Demon.

"Get them out," Hen told her, "You do that and I'll let you out of here."

"I can't do that, so just kill me already." The female demon sneered, looking up at the devil's trap.

"Can't or won't?"

"Both," the demon shrugged her shoulders and then looked at Dean, "Unless you want to swap your soul for hers right now. Crowley is perfectly happy to allow that."

"Blow me." Dean clenched his jaw, glaring into the brown eyes of the woman the demon had possessed. He knew it was a lie. Sam had already told him what Crowley had said a week ago.

"Think about the amount of guys your precious girlfriend is being forced to do that to right now," the demon laughed, "Along with all the rest of the torture that happens down there. You know she's close to cracking, right."

Dean was about to step into the trap to grab the demon's neck, but Wyatt pulled him back. This was just what she wanted.

The Crossroads bitch laughed and then turned her attention back to Hen, "And don't get me started on that sister of yours. I've got to admit she lasted longer than I expected but I don't give it long before she becomes one of us."

Hen did give into her taunts, but not by stepping into the trap. He grabbed a bottle of water from his pocket and threw it at the demon. She screamed as she burned. Dean smirked at the fact that the half-whitelighter had used holy water. They were all learning the tricks of getting demons to talk and do what they all want.

But Dean's smirk didn't last long. He needed to get his girlfriend out of Hell, and he needed to help Hen's sister. She was just 18 years old and had barely had much experience in demon vanquishes and fighting. The timid girl preferred to rely on her brother and cousins. It didn't really surprise Dean that she'd broken, but Mel was getting close. This was a girl who was strong deep down. Maybe everything that had happened to her in her life was catching up on her.

"If you're not gonna ask for anything else, please just kill me. Or you can let me go," the demon shrugged her shoulders, "You know if you do that I'll be back to..."

Dean pulled out the demon-slaying knife and stabbed the demon in the stomach. She flashed red and orange before dropping to the floor.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Hen shouted, grabbing Dean and looking deep into his green eyes, "That was our chance."

"She wasn't going to do anything," Dean sighed, "She can't. It's Crowley we want and he'd not gonna turn up any time soon."

With a huff, the older Winchester brother strode back to the small table and sat back down on the couch. The books would be better than some nameless Crossroads Demon. He could feel eyes on him, but he refused to look up at them. His girlfriend was close to breaking and if she did that...if she did that, she'd become a demon and he wasn't going to let that happen.

* * *

Another week passed by and they still hadn't found a way to save Mel and Holly. Hen was giving up. He'd resigned to his sister giving in and becoming a demon. He had a wife to bury anyway, and two daughters to protect and raise. He needed to be there for them.

Wyatt and Dean weren't giving up, and now Riley had joined them. As soon as he heard Mel was close to breaking, he'd started going back to the demon bar. He needed information about Hell and how she was doing. He wanted to find a way down there just to help her. Maybe he could pull her back around to putting up with the torture for a little bit longer. They'd find a way to save her.

Most of the family had resigned to the fact that Mel and Holly were gone. Maybe they'd have to face them one day as demons, but the Mel and Holly they knew were dead. And they weren't coming back. Chris and Leo had arranged the funeral, and it was today.

Dean had to go, just to show his face. But he refused to accept that this was it. He knew Mel wouldn't if the tables were turned. She'd fight to bring him back. Hell, she'd fought to get him back from Crowley's hands just months ago. He owed it to her to bring her back.

Glancing across at the mirror, Dean caught the smiling photo of Mel and Pru in one of the photos. He was back in Mel's old room, surrounded with her memories and things that reminded him of her. He'd spent most of the time in the attic, but needed some sleep last night. Just enough to deal with the mourners at Holly and Mel's funeral. Not like most of them would know him, but there would be sad glances and apologies for his loss.

He couldn't handle that on zero sleep. He's snap at someone—and possibly snap someone.

But now he couldn't stop staring at that photo. She looked so happy in it. He remembered asking her about that one when they got together. The glint in her eyes was contagious and Dean couldn't help but smile along with it. It was taken before Mel's boyfriend Ben had died. Long before Dean ever came into her life. Dean had guessed that it was before Mel's 21st birthday as well considering the two cousins were drinking water rather than alcohol.

A knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts. He refused to say anything, though. Maybe they'd leave him be for now so he could disappear in memories. Mel had to come back to him. He just needed to find a way to pull her back from Hell.

"Dean?" Sam's voice called out from the door. Nobody was going to leave him be for too long today, were they?

"Hey, Sammy." Dean sighed, deciding to go back to fastening his tie. He looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head. The tie wasn't right.

_You're really gonna wear that to my funeral, Cowboy?_

He could hear Mel's voice at the back of his mind. Ripping the tie open, he threw it on the bed and grabbed his other one. He didn't have many. Just enough to give him a choice.

"The car's outside when you're ready," Sam said with a softness in his voice, "Where are the..."

"I'm not going in the car, Sam," Dean shook his eyes, "I'm taking the Impala."

"But there's a space..."

"I'm taking the damn Impala, okay!" Dean shouted at his brother, looking at him through the mirror. When he couldn't fasten the tie, he growled and punched the mirror, "Damn it!"

Sam sighed and turned his brother around to face him. Dean was struggling to deal with this, but Sam remembered the feeling. He still remembered the day he lost Jess and getting ready for her funeral. It was the hardest day in his life—and he'd been through some hard days in his life. He wouldn't wish it on anyone, especially his big brother.

"Let me." Sam said, fastening the tie for Dean and then looked into his green eyes. He wanted to say something, but what could he say? Dean still hadn't let this go. He was constantly searching for a way to save his girlfriend.

"Is Bobby here?" Dean now asked.

"Downstairs," Sam nodded, "Dean, you know you can talk to me. I know what you're going through."

"No you don't, Sammy," Dean shook his head with a humorless laugh, "How can you know what it's like to know your girlfriend is doing time in Hell? Jess is gone and living somewhere peaceful in the afterlife."

"How do you know that, Dean?" Sam fired off at his brother.

"Because she wasn't dragged to hell by hellhounds," Dean fired back, "And demons would have told you all about it by now if she was there. Mel's so close to breaking, Sammy. She'll become one of them and... and..."

"Dean..."

"There's nothing I can do, Sammy," Dean finally admitted to it, as he let a tear fall down his cheek, "There's nothing I can do. I've tried. I've tried everything I can think of short of selling my own soul. And you know why I haven't done that?"

"Because Crowley wouldn't take it?"

"No. Because she wouldn't let me. She'd just call Crowley and do the switch back. And knowing that bastard, he'd take her because he knows that would be hell for me. That is my hell! I can't save her, Sammy. I've got to watch her get put in the ground today and there's nothing I can do about it."

As Dean finally broke down, Sam grabbed him. He pulled him into the tightest hug he'd ever offered, letting Dean know that he was here. He would be the shoulder for his big brother to cry on and he wouldn't judge him for this.

It hadn't taken too long for Dean to dry his tears. And he hadn't ridden in the car from the funeral directors. He'd gone in his own. He would have driven Mel's but that was still in a sorry state from when he'd destroyed it two weeks ago.

Two weeks and he was giving up. No, he couldn't do that, but right now he was going to accept that his girlfriend was gone. One thing that he had made clear to Sam, though, was that there would be no hunter's funeral for either Mel or Holly. He would get them back, somehow, and they needed bodies to go back to.

"Let me drive, Dean." Bobby offered as Dean and Sam walked down the stairs of the Halliwell Manor. The older Winchester didn't argue. He wasn't in the state to drive right now, and he couldn't trust himself to actually go to the funeral.

"I know you miss her, boy, but..." Bobby started but Dean cut him off by turning the music up. _No-One But You_ by Queen came on and Dean quickly turned it off. Not only was that one of Mel's favorites from the band, but it was Freddie Mercury's final song before his own death. He wasn't listening to that right now, "Dean I..."

"Don't, Bobby," Dean shook his head, "Just don't. I don't want to hear it."

Bobby sighed and looked at Sam through the rear-view mirror. Sam just cautiously looked between his brother and the man that was almost like a father to him. This car journey was going to be tense.

It didn't take long to get to the funeral home, though. Dean didn't say anything, and didn't get very close to the coffins. Sam noted how he'd barely said a word since breaking down in the bedroom. It was like his brother was finally accepting that Mel wasn't going to come back; that they couldn't find a way to bring her back. But Sam couldn't believe that. He knew his brother, and Dean would keep searching. He was keeping his distance because he didn't want to say goodbye. He refused to do that.

Dean just glared at the two coffins as they were carried into the funeral home. Wyatt, Chris and Leo were carrying one of them with help from some of Mel's friends, while Hen, Hen's dad Henry and his Uncle Coop took the other with the help of Holly's boyfriend and other friends. Leo and the Halliwell brothers had wanted Dean to have the 'honor' of carrying Mel in but he'd refused. He couldn't do it. He just wouldn't.

He didn't even go near the front where everyone else was. He stood at the back and just glared at the coffin that was going to be the eternal home for his girlfriend.

No that wasn't her home. That was just a home for her body. Mel—the Mel he knew and loved—was in Hell. She was dealing with torture day after day. She'd gone through two weeks of torture and was already close to breaking. Holly had already broken. Dean had to keep reminding himself. Every time he thought about giving up, he remembered the pain that Mel was going through and the pain Holly had been through. He thought about the humanity that was being pulled from the 18-year-old and the humanity that would be taken from his girlfriend. He couldn't let that happen.

Movement by the door caught his attention. It looked like someone has just walked out of the small chapel. That was strange. He didn't remember seeing anyone get up from their seats. His hunter instincts kicked in and he walked over to the door. Someone was walking around a large memorial. Glancing back at the coffins, Dean sighed. He needed to find out what was going on.

Once he got to the memorial, he snarled. This was not someone he wanted to see right now.

"What are you doing here?"

"I am sorry, Dean, but we needed to speak." The dark-haired man in the mustard-colored trench coat spoke. Dean had only seen him a handful of times, but it was enough to put him in a bad mood—especially on a day when his mood was already bad.

"I've got nothin' to say to you, you angel dick," Dean growled, "Get away from here before I find a way to kill you. And trust me, I will."

"I wanted to tell you that I am searching for a way to bring them back," Castiel spoke, "Holly and Melinda..."

"Don't say her name," Dean warned her, "You have no right to say her name. You shouldn't have let her die in the first place. She saved your ass from being sacrificed, and you repay her by letting her stay in Hell for two weeks."

"Five years."

"What?"

"It will be five years for her," Castiel spoke quietly, with a deep frown, "Time runs differently down there and in Heaven, actually. What is two weeks here is five years there."

Dean didn't know what to say, so he did the one thing that he could. He grabbed the angel by the collar of his trench coat and pushed him up against the memorial.

"Dean!" Sam's voice called out to him from behind. Dean wasn't in any mood to listen, though.

"Five years? Five _fucking years!_" Dean shouted at the angel, "She saved your ass and now she's been suffering in Hell for five years. You don't deserve to live. Believe me. When I get her back, you will be at the top of my list of things to kill. I'd do it now, but getting her back is more important. She deserved better than all this."

"Dean!" Sam's hands were now on him.

"Dean, don't do anything you'll regret." Bobby's voice now broke the tense silence. Dean glared into the blue eyes of the angel, ready to punch him. But instead, he just pushed his fists into Castiel's shoulders and launched himself backwards. Throwing up his arms to get Sam off him, Dean stalked away from the angel, only stopping when he heard him speak again.

"I am searching. I promise you that, Dean."

Then there was a flap of wings and Dean knew that if he turned around the angel would be gone. He wasn't going to do it, though. He didn't want the confirmation that Castiel had left them again. And he definitely didn't want to look at the sadness and disappointment that he knew would be in Sam and Bobby's eyes.

* * *

**I know Dean and Castiel are close in the real series, but this is a very different setting. Castiel didn't raise Dean from Hell and I don't imagine that it was an easy thing to do. With Mel not being as important as Dean was, I also imagine that it will take much longer. Anyway, I'd love to read your reviews about this. Please do leave a comment :)  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**It's the last chapter! Argh!**

**Thank you so much for the support in this series of stories. I'm currently working on the story between this one and the one that I'd written previously because I really wanted to show the months between them. The one after this is set 10 months later, and the destruction and hurt that they've all faced is important.**

**This chapter is very short. It's just an epilogue set two months after Mel's death. I hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 19

Looking in the mirror, Mel couldn't believe what she had just done. She had given up. 20 years of torture was enough. She needed out and needed to get off that rack.

She hated how weak she'd just become. When she first found herself in Hell, she said that she would never do it. She'd put herself through the torture day in and day out. She was the protector of the innocent, not the torturer of the innocent. It had taken two and a half years for her cousin to break, but Mel knew that Holly wasn't as strong as her.

After announcing that she would give in, she was instantly taken from the chains that bound her that day and moved to the showers. Demons stripped the torn and dirty clothes from her body and she was washed down. She didn't even care that demons were leering over her body. A body that was basically skin and bones now. The definition she'd gained over the years was gone from a lack of food and water. Not that it really mattered. It wasn't like she could die or that she'd see the people she loved again.

And that realization was what finally made her break. She could never die. She would never get out of this. Eventually, she would give in so why not do it now? There was no way that anyone could save her from this. It had been 20 years. Dean would have found her by now if he could have saved her.

"I'm sorry, Dean." Mel said, looking in the mirror at the skin tight, short red dress that she was wearing.

"Don't be sorry, Munchkin," Crowley's voice made her skin crawl, but she would have to learn to put up with it, "It's not like he can do anything now."

Mel turned around as Crowley walked over to her and pulled her into an embrace. She hadn't just given in to start torturing people. She had given in to becoming the Queen of Hell.

* * *

**Yes, the Queen of Hell. Not just any demon! Mwahaha. She believes that the two months really are 20 years...I believe Dean thought his four months was really 40 years in the original series. He was certainly confused when he was pulled from the pit. **

**Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think of this; of Mel's decision and how Dean is going to react when he finds out the truth. What did you think of the story now that it's come to the end? Please R&amp;R**


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